World of Warcraft : Demon and the Lich
by JJfats
Summary: The Lich King and Illidan Stormrage's armies begin to march. 2 Unlikely heroes must gather an army of their own and lead a counter attack, or risk the destruction of Azeroth. Set 25 years after The Burning Crusade. Plenty of real WoW characters.
1. Silent Night

JJ: Hey there guys! This be my first fan fic so please go easy on me. Reviews,constructive criticism are welcome. Flames...I guess, it could help me improve my writing skills.The story is about my World of Warcraft characters (And my friend's) going on adventures, questing and doing what they do best...fighting! In later parts on the story, the plot will deepen and become more serious, so please bear with the easy going beginning. Here is a list of characters and their connection to the real wow.

Nellera Brightarch - lvl 70 Blood elf Paladin 'Shebubble' Burning Legion server

Karkon - lvl 70 Orc Warrior 'Karkon' Burning Legion server

Thorka Fangtotem - lvl 70 Tauren Druid 'Clintonfaiz' Burning Legion server

Sey' Rans - lvl 70 Troll Hunter 'Seyrans' Burning Legion server

JJ: That should make things easier.

Nell: Your just sad and lonely in boarding school...pathetic...

JJ: Shhhh! just give out the **Disclaimer**!

Nell: Meh, World of Warcraft does not belong to JJfats...although I do...grrr...

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Chapter 1

Karkon's eyes followed her every move. All she had been doing for the whole night was impatiently pacing around the camp fire, occasionally cursing in Thalassian and peering untrustingly into the tree line. It was an unusually quiet night here, deep within the forests of Feralas. Usually, there would be the chirping of crickets or the howling of wolves in the background, but all was silent this night.

_'Good' _Karkon thought, It tells us that something is amiss. He shifted his weary eyes back towards the blood elf who was still circling the fire. She was an unlikely companion to see traveling with an orc. At first glance, they looked like polar opposites to others.

Karkon was huge, even for an orc, at nearlyeight feet. His body was mostly made up of muscle, his arms almost as long as a human leg, but as huge as a beer keg. His grey-green skin seemed blood red in the fire light. On the other hand, the elf, the paladin, was only six feet. She had short red hair and the typical long, pointed ears of her kind. The only difference was that of her eyes. Unlike other blood elves, Nellera Brightarch's eyes did not glow eerie green like other Blood elves. Instead her eyes were a dull, like that of a human, except that her irises were blood red.

He did not know much about her and he never found a good time to ask about her past. She always seemed to be in a bad mood and Karkon knew all too well what she was capable of.

Nell might look slim and harmless, and probably to some, even beautiful, but she was a deadly fighter. She could take down wave after wave of enemies, handling her huge two-handed mace with ease. Her ornate armor was like a shell, blocking of all emotions to the outside world. 'Well, all except anger' Karkon said to himself.

Sensing eyes on her back, the elf glanced in Karkon's direction with a piercing stare. Karkon quickly avoided her gaze. Some how, the girl exudes an aura of raw power that could even make the bravest men uncomfortable.

Nell glared back into the forest and cursed again. Karkon took it upon himself to take first watch. He knew if he went to sleep before the elf, she would have run into the forest and try to kill their prey on her own. It was the same with all other Blood Knights. Blood elven paladins who walk the path of retribution would always wander far from their home to seek battle, only stopping during times of war or if they were to old to continue fighting or if they were dead.

Karkon looked back at how they had gotten into this mess. While they were in Ratchet, Nell had gone to seek out her contacts some where in the town and had told him to meet her at the inn. While he was there, he got carried away and drank himself penniless. When a human sailor had insulted him in his drunken state, Karkon had went berserk and pretty much brought the entire inn down to the ground killing almost everyone in it. He then rampaged through the streets like an unstoppable green tank. No matter what anyone did, nothing could stop him. That was until Nell returned and gave him a hard boot to the face, knocking him out.

Apparently, while he was unconscious, the goblins had kicked them out of Ratchet for good, saying that they would only allow them entry if they could bring back the head of a certain necromancer who has been hounding Steamwheedle Cartel caravans. Since Nell frequented to Ratchet. She was determined to hunt down the necromancer.

Usually, Karkon wouldn't have minded going on such a quest. He lived for battle like all of his kind. He just did not like the idea of fighting a wizard without the aid of ranged support. he had seen what necromancers could do. During the Scourge invasion, he had seen necromancers cast spells that flayed skin from bone and raise armies of the dead to fight them.

Karkon noticed that Nell was fast asleep at the far side of the camp. She seemed to have fallen asleep while he was deep in thought. She did not even bother taking off her armor and wore it in her slumber. Even her weapons and librams were still attached to her belt and back.

Karkon breathe a sigh of relief. One of the little things he knew about the girl was that once she was asleep, nothing could wake her except a prod or the scent of an enemy near by. The orc felt his eyes growing heavier with each passing moment. Soon, he found himself asleep. He did not bother waking Nell for her shift for he knew that she would run off. Karkon drifted off into a deep slumber.

It was an unusually quiet night in Feralas. Usually, there would be the chirping of crickets or the howling of wolves in the background, but all was silent this night. All except for the light snoring of two warriors around a campfire...

To be continued...

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JJ: Ok thats one chapter down, a whole bunch to go! Weekends are coming so hopefully another 2-3 chapters will be out by Monday. This chapter is just an intro to the our two heroes. There will be battle in the next! I promise D 

Nell: There better be...or I'll be introducing you to my meat grinder...

JJ: Gulp


	2. Making their way

JJ: Here we have chapter 2! Huzzah! I'm pretty surprised that i managed 2 chapters in just one day. I've also finished updating this one, making it longer.

Nell: ...I wasn't in the fight scene...

JJ: Now, now my dear. You'll be in the next one. D

Nell: ...I hate you...

JJ: aaawwww, don't be like that. Here, I'll let you do the **disclaimer. **It will make u feel better!

Nell: _'sigh'_...World of Warcraft does not belong to JJfats...unfortuntely...I do...

JJ: Great! Here is chapter 2! enjoy!

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Chapter 2

"Goddammit!" Birds and wildlife scattered in all directions at the sound of the furious scream. This was the fourth time this morning that Nell had tripped over the thick undergrowth which riddled Feralas. She picked herself up before muttering a curse and continuing on her way

Karkon silently followed her. Nell was impatient. She was rushing to find her objective that she ignored everything else around her. Karkon kept his mouth shut. He knew better than try and warn her to be more cautious. All that would have done would have resulted in her shouting out more arguments and complaints, alerting all enemies nearby. Leaving her as she was at the moment was so far the safest method of approach.

After awhile, Nell had gone quiet. She began to move much slower, minding her step. That was something unusual. As Karkon opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, Nell had shushed him and gestured for him to lay low and be silent. Slowly, he made his way over to where the crouched elf was. He was about to ask what was the problem once more, when the answer hit him in the nose. " I smell gnolls..." he growled softly.

"Not just any gnolls." replied Nell "The dead kind." Sniffing the air warily, Karkon realized that she was right. Along with the scent of the disgusting creatures, he could smell the rot of their flesh. Once again, he was awed by the paladins senses. Her sense of smell and sight rivaled that of an orc. Especially when it came to finding those of the 'dead'.

" We should tread carefully from now on." cautioned Karkon. Nell just gave him a smirk. "Caution? Are you such a coward that only a few zombies scare you?" mocked the elf. Karkon was furious now. He felt his grip on his axe tighten. " You dare call me a coward whelp?" he bellowed. "You are lucky that I have learned to be patient with you! If not, you would be just another pile of dead weight on the ground by now!"

Nell gave Karkon a savage smile, "Well then," she said, "Do you still wish to 'tread carefully' now that you have pretty much alerted every soul in this light forsaken forest?" Realization began to dawn on Karkon. The girl had intentionally angered him so that he would reveal their presence to the enemy. Karkon then learned one more thing about the elf. Apart from being always angry, she was crazed.

"Somebody has to die for this..." growled Karkon. Nell was not fazed by his hostility. "By all means, after you." she gestured at the direction the horrible scent of rotting flesh was emnating from. Furiously, he grunted and stomped of in the direction that Nell had pointed out.

As he was stalking off towards the scent, he called out without looking back, "One day girl...One day soon, I am going t-" his words were cut off as a fell down a short cliff. All he heard was the sound of Nell's psychotic laughter before he hit the ground hard. Face first.

Karkon picked himself from the ground, his heavy plate armor having cushioned his fall. If not for his helmet, he was sure that his neck would have snapped on impact. _'I Swear, by all the ancestors, by all the ancients, I will kill that girl one day!" _he cursed inwardly. Just then, he noticed the many dozens of dead, glazed over eyes staring at him. The stench was overwhelming now. He knew that he was in trouble. He laid himself in a low combat stance, readying himself for the horde of undead which lay before him.

"Lok'tar ogar!" He bellowed his orcish war cry and charged straight in the mob of decaying bodies. Leaving broken corpses and severed body parts in his wake. The gnolls scattered under the onslaught. Their limbs were just too decomposed to react fast enough to dodge or parry the orc's charge. All around him, limbs were severed and bones were broken. The gnolls tried to raise their shields to protect themselves from the orc's fury, but his razor sharp axe, backed by his enormous strength, bit clean through the shields, armor and flesh of his rotting assailants. Three of them managed to sneak up behind him in an attempt to stab the orc in the back, but he smelt them coming. He swung his axe backwards and three torsos separated from their lower halves in one, great decapitating arc. Karkon made short work of the remaining vermin.

Those who managed to survive quickly fled in all directions and into the treeline. Karkon was left standing alone among the bodies of dozens of really dead gnolls. A slow applause from above made him look up. The elf was still at the top of the cliff with a sarcastic grin on her face. Karkon just glared at her with hate filled eyes. Unfazed by his stare, Nell jumped off the cliff and landed on her feet. She gave Karkon an unconvincing wink and said, "I knew you could handle it." and walked off in a direction which Karkon assumed was where the necromancer was.

Rage filled the orc.His grip on his axe tightened. He found himself pacing up behind the elf, axe poised to strike. The urge to kill the elf now while her back was turned was too strong. Right before he brought the axe down on her, he hesitated. What was I thinking? The girl pisses him off. She always doesn't appreciate what he does and on top of that, she always insulted his honour. To an orc, that was more than enough reason to kill someone. He sometimes didn't even know why he bothered to travel with her. But, she had her uses. Right now, he needed her alive. She had to be alive if he wanted his schemes to succeed. Slowly, he forced himself to lower his axe and loosen his grip on it. It was a hard thing to do. Every impulse within his body told him to strike the girl down. It took nearly all his will power to finally lower his axe to his side. No, he said to himself, the girl must live. At least, for now...

As he caught up to Nell, he heard her mutter something in her own language. Somehow, he knew that she was talking about him. And somehow, he knew that she was saying, _'Try Me'._

To be continued...

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JJ: Man, it was though writing this one. I extended the story a bit while I was in school. If my science teacher found out, I'm so screwed. Please don't tell her. She would kill me. 

Nell: I better be fighting in he next chapter or I'll be killing you...

JJ: Of course you will be my dear. Have patience.

Nell: ..._'growl'..._

JJ: Yikes!


	3. The Fallen Knight

JJ: Alright! Chapter 3! It was though getting this one done. I am running out of inspiration. .

Thorka: Then add me to the story! I have yet to make an appearance!

JJ: No! Not yet! I have plans for you...That, and the fact that your creator annoys me. .

Thorka: Hey! That is not my fault!

JJ: Yea, yea. Anyway, I can't fine Nell anywhere. Would you like the honours of giving out the **disclaimer**?

Thorka: It would be my honour. World of Warcraft does not belong to JJfats, only Nell does.

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Chapter 3

It has been several hours since the ambush. The pair had yet to encounter anymore undead since the fight with the gnolls. The peaks of the Twin Colassals were just visible in the distance, telling the party that they were nearing the edge of the forests and approaching the barren land of Desolace. _'That made sense'_ thought Karkon. Desolace is the favored hiding place of evil warlocks and necromancers. One likely reason was that the place was filled with pockets of demonic energy which remained since the time the Burning Legion first came to Azeroth.

As if reading his thoughts, Nell said, "We have to get to that damn wizard before he reaches Desolace. If he gets there, The amount of evil residue there will mess with my senses and we would probably lose him." As she finished her sentenced, she began to pick up the pace. "He is probably headed for Shadowbreak Ravine. Why don't we just cut off and go straight there?" Karkon suggested.

Nell stopped in her tracks and glanced back at Karkon with an unamused smile. "My dear friend, Shadowbreak Ravine is the haven for warlocks of the Burning Blade, not necromancers Of the Scourge." said the elf sarcastically. "There is a difference you know, the Burning Blade worships the lords of the Burning Legion and of course, everyone by now knows that the Scourge are no longer too friendly with them. If our little friend went to the ravine, he would probably have been bound and sent off as a demonic sacrifice. And I assure you, that's the least that our friend wants." with that said, she turned away and continued on her way. Karkon just let out an annoyed grunt and followed after her.

A few more hours of trekking passes without incident. By now the two had reached the entrance of the valley which cut through between the Twin Colassals. The path was dimmed by the western colassal blocking out off the remaining light from the setting sun. Karkon felt an eerie aura emnating from within the valley, furthur down the path. Before he could voice out his opinion, Nell had already disappeared around a corner. "If you have the time to stand there petrified, then I believe that you have the time to help me look for our little friend. Don't you?" She called back. Karkon paced furiously around the corner to catch up with the elf.

Karkon did not like this place. There were few things in the world that he really disliked and this pass was one of them. On top of that list was Nell of course. The paladin knew no bounds when it came to infuriating him. But, there was something about the valley that filled him with dread. It was as if the feeling of death was all around him. Nell seemed to show a similar discomfort. "Something is not right..." she mumbled. Karkon just stared at her curiously. "Usually, there would be two night elfs here who would try to con travelers by teleporting them to the top of the Colassals and forcing them to buy a parachute. From my travels, I've learned that they almost never leave this place. And yet, they are nowhere to be found...". Karkon pondered on this thought a little. Finally he said, " If they are not here, it is most likely that the necromancer had come this way." Nell just nodded in agreement.

"He is close by, I can feel it." Nell whispered. Her hand slowly moving to grip her hammer. The ornate warhammer that she had earned from assisting the great mystical light beings who watched over Shattrath city in the Outlands. The Hammer of the Naaru. Yes, Karkon recalled the name being whispered into his mind when Nell had received the weapon. Nell seemed to relax as her grip on the weapon tightened. Karkon only ever seen the elf relaxed when she was holding it in her hands. While Karkon was thinking about this, he did not notice that Nell had stopped dead in her tracks. He walked straight into her and they both toppled down in a heap.

"Watch where your going!" she yelled. "Watch where I am going? Your the one who stopped walking all of a sudden!" the orc retorted. The elf just stared at Karkon, anger and disbelief in her eyes. "Are you telling me that you didn't notice?" Now Karkon was baffled. What was she talking about? "Didn't notice what?" he asked. Nell just turned around and pointed a finger at the top of the western colassal. "That." she said. The orc looked towards the direction she indicated. He squinted his eyes and peered at the peak. It was finally then he realized what she was talking about. On the peak of the mountain, stood a lone figure. He was wearing great black and brass plate armor which seemed to burn with demonic fire and his face was concealed with a low cowl. he held a great rune sword in one hand and a huge book in the other. Kakon could just barely make out evil, glowing green symbols on its cover. "Death Knight.." the orc growled. It seemed that the duo had been mistaken about the profession of their prey.

The knight regarded them from his perch. He gave them an evil grin and said, "Ah, so you are the annoying little gnats pursuing us." Karkon unsheathed his axe and readied himself, half expecting a spell to spring out of nowhere. The knight seemed to notice Karkon's uncomfort. "Ah, no need to be so hostile my friend. Allow me to introduce my self. I am Cornelius Breakwater. Servant of the almighty Lich King, Lord Arthas." Karkon could visibly see Nell's anger, and her eye brows began to twitch. Prince...no, 'King' Arthas was once a paladin like her. A defender of the weak and follower of the Light. He had long since fell prey to the corruption of the Scourge. To all paladins of the world, there was no kinder title to give Arthas apart from 'Traitor'.

" My, my. You don't have to stare at me with those angry eyes. After all, we are not so different, you and I." said the necromancer with a smug look on his face. It was obviously the last straw fro Nell. Karkon knew that she hated being compared to one of the 'fallen paladins' above all else. The second those words left the death knight's mouth, Nell was already on the move. Quickly jumping from ledge to ledge in an attempt to reach the top of the mountain. Karkon moved to join her in the climb when he suddenly realized that his right foot was stuck to the ground. The orc looked down and found a skeletal arm, half emerged from the ground, holding his leg in place.

The arm was simply too weak to hold down the orc completely. Karkon managed to lift up his trapped leg and brought it down hard on the arm, shattering it into tiny, uncountable fragments. By the time he was done with that, he found himself surrounded by several dozen skeleton warriors and zombies. He also saw two fresh looking zombies. Both were night elfs. He immediately knew that these two were the night elfs that Nell had spoken of. He risked a glance upwards to see how the elf was doing. Nell had almost reached the top, the death knight looking down at her with grim satisfaction written all over his face. Karkon shifted his focus back towards the undead horde. He licked his lips and bared his sharp, yellow teeth. He was very sure that Nell could handle the knight herself. He was also very sure that all these dead bodies in front of him were going to be even more dead in a few moments.

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Nell leaped off the final ledge and vaulted herself into the air. As she fell back towards the death knight, she brought her mace forward in an attempt to crush him in a single blow. The knight narrowly evaded it and Nell's strike landed in the spot he had been just mere moments ago with devastating force. Backed up by the force of gravity, the blow shattered the cliff side. Cornelius brandished his rune sword and crouched in a low fighting position. "Impressive power," he said, "But it can be further improved if you would join us. Lord Arthas can grant you unimaginable power. You would be unst-" Nell did not give him time to finish the sentence, she charged and brought her hammer in a devastating arc. The knight quickly brought his blade up in defense. An explosion of green-blue sparks formed as holy and unholy weapon met.

"Your eyes are filled with hate and anger. You are already on the path of death!" taunted Cornelius. "Be silent!" Nell retorted. " My hatred is aimed at your kind! I will never join those I seek to destroy!" Nell overpowered the death knight and swung her hammer in a vertical arc. The knight side stepped to avoid the blow. As the hammer fell on empty ground, Nell quickly drew her one of her short swords from her belt and lashed out at the knight. Cornelius reacted instantly and managed to barely block the blow. Snarling with frustration, Nell pulled her hammer out of the ground, sheathed her sword and took a step back to put some distance between her and the fallen knight.

"Immense strength, excellent reaction time, and above all else, a deep soul filled with hatred and longing for vengeance! All the qualities befitting a death knight! You truly are magnificent, my lady." complimented Cornelius. Nell roared and lunged at him, swinging her hammer upwards. It was a clumsy swing, which the knight easily dodged. The knight was goading her. Taunting her. One of the simplest tricks in the book, but it seemed to be working at the moment. "You are letting your anger guide your hand, lass. Not such a bad move, but you should control your temper girl. Rage can cloud ones judgement. Join us girl! We can teach you the skills of immense destruction! We can make you stronger!"

The fight was not looking good for the elf. Although she hated to admit it, the fallen knight was right. She was letting anger get the best of her. She tried with all her might to calm down, but the amount of hatred she harbored was too great. There was also another factor playing against her in this fight. She was using a mace. Although her hammer was both mighty and legendary, it was still a mace, and all her years of training knew that maces were not a defensive weapon, unlike the knights runeblade. Warhammers are heavy and slow weapons and could only do real damage if an enemy was struck by the head of the mace, unlike a sword. She could try using her two short swords on her belt to combat the knight, but those were made of normal, unenchanted dwarfish steel. Formidable as they were, they would still break if they clashed with a rune weapon.

Nell knew that if she let up on offense and went on defense, she would undoubtedly lose. " I am saying this once more, lass. Join us. Join us and I will personally request Lord Arthas to train you. Teach you all his tricks and skills!" offered Cornelius. The knight obviously has seen his advantage over her. In response, Nell spat at him and took up a fighting stance. Cornelius just shook his head sadly. "A pity. You had so much potential too." What happened next was all a blur to Nell. As Cornelius shook his head, she thought she saw glowing green eyes underneath the knights cowl. All of a sudden, she felt a cold pain across her chest. Her arms felt weak and she dropped her mace. Her legs went limp as she struggled to stand. The last thing she saw before she blacked out was the death knights runeblade with brilliant strings of crimson on it.

To be continued...

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JJ: Well, that was a surprise. I even surprised myself there...Never thought I had the courage to write about Nell like that ...

Nell: JOOOOOOORRRDAAAAAAAAAAAN!

JJ: Oh crap...Got to go! Please look forward to the next chapter! Bye now! Runs away

Nell: COME BACK HERE YOU LIGHT FORSAKEN WUUUUSSSSSSS!


	4. Spilt Blood

JJ: Alright chapter 4! Nell gets her posterior handed to her and Karkon is left alone to fend for himself. Lets find out what happens ne-

Nell: OOOOOI!

JJ: Gah! Nell! w-w-where did you come from?! No! what are you doin!? NOOOOOOOOO!

Karkon: ... World of Warcraft does not belong to JJfats...Rest in piece my friend...

JJ: Noooooo! I'm not dead yet! _'cry'_

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Chapter 4

Karkon ducked under another slow and clumsy swing from his adversaries. From his crouched position, he lunged forward and rammed his spiked shoulder guard into the chest of the zombie. The undead head and limbs parted under the force of such a heavy blow.

All around the orc lay decapitated bodies and broken bones. The orc had slain over a hundred foes so far, but they kept on coming. Fresh corpses continued to emerge from the ground and those who still had their arms and legs even after being battered by the orc picked themselves up and renewed their attack.

The dead do not feel anything. Their senses having long ago rotted along with their bodies. They feel no emotion, no remorse, no pain. That was one of the reasons that made undead so deadly. With the inability to feel pain, an everlasting hunger for living flesh and being able to infect the corpses of their victims, the undead became one of the most terrifying enemies in the world.

Karkon did not care. He was an orc warrior. He was fearless. He would destroy every single rotting corpse who attempted to attack him. If there was one way to kill that which is already dead, it was to severe its barely functioning brain from its body. That, or to kill the one who reanimated them in the first place.

At that moment, a thought struck Karkon. Where was the wizard who was performing the reanimation? He knew that death knights were able to reanimate a few bodies but there were simply too many undead for a single knight to control while in direct combat with another person. The thought of the death knight reminded him of Nell. He risked a glance up at the peak. What he saw made his mouth fall. The orc gaped at the scene which he beheld.

With near impossible speed, the death knight brought down his rune blade in a diagonal slash, cleaving through Nell's plate armor as if it were butter. Bright red streams of blood gushed from the gaping wound left on Nell's body. She dropped her mace and her body went limp. An expression of shock was written all over Karkon's face as he saw the paladin toppled forward.

Before he could react, an arrow of greenish energy cut through the air in front of him, narrowly missing his head. The spell hit a corpse and it began to decompose at an unbelievable rate. The words left Karkon's mouth before the name occurred in his mind. "Necromancer…" growled Karkon. From the direction the spell had come from, stood a tall figure. He was clad in grey robes with black outlines. On his shoulder's sat drake skulls whose eyes still glowed red as if they were still alive. He held a great staff with a horned skull at the tip. Unlike the death knight, the wizard wore nothing to obscure his features. He was a bald human with a deathly white beard. Tattoos of the Scourge riddled his bare head.

"Bah! My age is hindering my accuracy." he spat. He studied Karkon more carefully, his eyes darted back and forth from the orc to the pile of dead bodies left by Karkon's handiwork. "A pity about those lifeless fools." he said, "but you would make a fine specimen." he pointed a bony finger at Karkon. The orc knew what was coming. He quickly rolled behind a group of undead. The necromancer's spell struck the group, causing the whole lot to catch fire. Karkon heard the manic laughter of the wizard from beyond the inferno. If he did not do something about the necromancer soon, he was sure that he would be another shambling corpse too.

* * *

Cornelius Breakwater walked over towards the still form of the paladin girl. A pool of blood was slowly growing beneath her. Cornelius prodded her with the tip of his blade and produced an grim smile as Nell's body twitched at the contact. "Hoooo...so you are still alive, I see." said the death knight. " Honestly, I was expecting more from you." Nell slowly looked up. She barely had the strength to keep one of her eyes open. Pain shot through her body and she coughed up a hand full of blood. She kept her one open eye locked on Cornelius and attempted a scowl. Unimpressed, the knight kicked Nell in the midsection and was rewarded with a faint grunt of pain as Nell coughed out more blood.

The death knight bent over and picked up Nell's hammer with one hand. Smoke began to rise from the hand which he used to pick the weapon up as the holy item made contact with his unholy armor. He brandished it and gave it a few test swings before gently tossing over the edge of the cliff, and into the carnage below. "It was a good weapon." he said. "A pity that one of my...profession does not take a liking to such abominable enchantments." Cornelius went down on one knee before Nell . " I am giving you one last chance, girl. Join me, and you will become stronger than you could possibly imagine. Or die."

Using what remained of her strength, Nell gave the death knight a hard slap. It was obvious that it would not have harmed the knight. The slap was just one final act of defiance. "I see. Your choice is made." sighed the death knight. "You are brave, girl. And I respect that. But you are also..." he stopped his sentence half way and held Nell over the edge of the ravine by her neck. "...foolish." Cornelius finished and released his grip on the elf. Her body falling lifelessly to the ground. As the knight turned around. A blast of natural energy struck him square in the chest. It was a weak blow, not nearly enough to penetrate his accursed armor, but it was strong enough to make him lose balance. Cornelius found himself toppling over the edge of the cliff as well.

* * *

The battle was not looking good for Karkon. The necromancer had him backed into a corner. The orc had no where else to run or hide from the wizard's spell. If the wizard attempted to finish Karkon off at that very moment, the orc knew he was doomed. As if in cue with his thoughts, the necromancer pointed a glowing hand at Karkon with a savage smile across his face. "I've had my fun, little gnat, but if I take too long, Lord Breakwater would punish me harshly. I guess this is good bye." As he finished his sentence, his unholy spell leaped from his fingers an sped towards the orc.

Karkon braced himself. He offered a quick prayer to the Ancestors and braced himself for death.But it never came. As if an answer to his prayers, Nell's warhammer fell from the sky. By sheer coincidence, the spell struck the head of the holy weapon and ricocheted back towards the necromancer. The spell struck a glancing blow to the side of the wizard's head and he toppled backwards. The orc stared open mouthed for a few moments, then he offered another quick prayer to the Ancestors for his deliverance.

Another thought struck Karkon. What was the girl's hammer doing down here. The orc quickly looked up and his eyes widened. The elf was falling toward the ground, trailing arcs of blood as she fell. A relatively huge part of him told him to let her fall. He never like the elf anyway, so why should he even bother to save her? But another part told him to save her. He needed her if he as ever going to complete his task, his mission. As much as he wanted to see the elf fall to the ground in one massive, gory explosion, he forced himself to move his legs towards her.

He stood beneath the falling paladin and braced himself. After what seemed like an eternity, the still form of Nellera Brightarch landed heavily in Karkon's massive arms. The impact sent a surge of pain through the orc. He felt as if his arms would give way at any second. Although the elf alone was as light as a feather, the amount of distance she fell increased her velocity. On top of that, she was in full plate armor, which added to the stress in Karkon's arms. As he knelt down to lay her on down, he noticed a shadow on the ground, growing lager with every second. He turned around to see the huge form of an abomination raising a huge cleaver to strike down the orc. Before Karkon, or the abomination could react, the death knight fell straight into the creature. The force of the fall, increased by the immensely heavy looking armor the death knight wore. caused the creature to literally explode into a disgutsting mix of blood, intestines and puss. The orc could do nothing but stare at the irony of the moment.

Karkon curiously eyes the unmoving death knight. It was obvious that no living thing could have survived such a fall, but he did not want to take any chances. He gently laid the unconscious elf on the ground and cautiously walked over towards the knight. Karkon stood over the knight, his axe in hand. He raised it high to deliver the final blow. Before he struck down the knight, he recalled what Nell had always said before she killed a foe related to the Lich King. "Redemption does not await you at the other side." muttered Karkon and swung his axe down at the knights neck.

A bolt of green energy struck the axe knocking it from Karkon's hands. The orc quickly reacted and crouched low, glancing at the the source of the spell. The necromancer was still alive, and his face looked as if it had seen better days. Although his spell was weakened by bouncing of a holy weapon, it still had some potency left. On the right side of the necromancer's face where living flesh had been, now lay a rotting, exposed skull. His eye was still fresh in its socket. The necromancer shouted in anger and pain while unleashing a storm of chaotic energy. It looked as if this was finally the end of the road for the orc.

Once again, the orc waited for a death that never came. Karkon stared as a wall of giant roots and plants grew from the ground and walls to block the spell. The hail of energy struck the wall, killing and withering the roots in front, but the wall was simply too thick to be penetrated. Just then, a deafening screech echoed through out the valley. A great brown hawk glided into the ravine and landed in front of the orc. Karkon just stared at it, confused. Then the impossible happened.

The hawk started to change shape, it grew bigger, it's wings withdrew and it began growing arms. The hawk eventually grew to a size bigger than that of the orc himself. It's head morphed into that of a bull with great horn's growing from the side of his head. At the end of the transformation, what stood in front of Karkon was not a hawk, but a tauren, dressed in green leather garments, spaulders and kilt. Karkon had heard tales of such beings before, but has never seen it with his own eyes. He thought they were just tall tales, made to impress vagabonds and drunks, but seeing was believing, and Karkon saw.

In front of him, stood a tauren druid. A shape-shifter. A disciple of nature. The tauren looked Karkon straight in the eye and gave a low bow. "Greetings traveler." He said, "I am Thorka Fangtotem, a druid of the Emerald Circle. Pleased to meet your acquaintance."

To be continued...

* * *

JJ: Phew! this was the longest amount of time it took me to write a chapter. (2 days) And we also introduce, Thorka, a tauren feral/balance druid, really named 'Clintonfaiz' in WoW.

Clinton: Hey! It's my character. I can name him whatever I want!

JJ: Yeah, I know, but...Clintonfaiz sounds as if you are trying to say Clinton fails...and...well...it kinda sounds like an insult to someone we know...

Clinton:...


	5. Back from the Dead

JJ: As the plot of the story keeps forming in my head, I end up changing the story name a lot too...

Karkon: You are troubled...

JJ: Shush you! I have school! Be grateful that I had the time to write this darn long chapter.

Karkon: I advise you to spend more time on your work than writing your fan fics...

JJ: Wait...Wha?...

Karkon: **Disclaimer **- World of Warcraft does not belong to JJfats, only Nell does.

* * *

Chapter 5

"Impressive," muttered Karkon as he inspected the great wall of roots that the druid had called forth. "Thank you," replied the tauren. He was kneeling over Nell, attending to her wound. "Your spell will keep the necromancer at bay, but once that deat knight regains consciousness, it could be a different story." Karkon said. "It is not meant to hold forever, my friend. Once I am done with the girl, we must depart immediately. Healing wounds are not my specialty, but I can at least stop her from bleeding to death."

It both relieved and irritated Karkon to hear that the elf was going to live. He hated her, but he needed her. _"Ironic"_ he thought. "All done." Thorka said with a satisfied look on his face. "Quickly, my friend. We must retreat before my spell breaks. If those two catch us, I don't think we can shake them again." The tauren picked up the limp elf and rested her over his shoulder. With a loud snort, the tauren began sprinting back out the way Karkon and Nell had first came through. The orc quickly followed suite. Karkon had a hard time keeping up with the druid. He had both his axe and Nell's warhammer strapped to his back. Both of the heavy weapons were slowing him down. The druid on the other hand seemed as swift as a panther. Even though he had to deal with the weight a paladin in full armor and his own huge staff, he seemed to have endless amounts of stamina. He was not even breaking a sweat.

He did not know who this stranger was or why he was helping them, but he knew that he was strong. There would be time to ask questions later, when they were out of harms way, but right now, he needed all The help he could get. He risked a glance back at the wall of roots. It seemed to be holding, but the signs of stress on it were obvious. He just hoped that the death knight had not already awakened.

* * *

Cornelius Breakwater began to stir. His head hurt like hell. He cursed himself for not wearing his helmet. Still, he prefered his low cowl. It had been a symbol of righteousness when he was still a holy warrior. He now wore it, unashamed, as a symbol of how the mighty have fallen. Shaking the thought out of his head, the death knight slowly picked himself up.

"It's about time," came the arrogant voice of the necromancer, Goren. "I was starting to think that I had to raise you as my minion as well, but it seems that I am mistaken." Cornelius ignored the wizard. Instead, he kept his focus on the giant wall of roots in front of him. "What is this?" he asked, puzzled. "It is a wall of roots, obviously. Can you be any more stupid than you already are." Cornelius started to tremble in anger at the last comment, but he kept his temper in check. He knew that the Lich King valued his necromancers. Instead he turned towards the wizard and asked, "What I meant was, where did it come fr-...What happend to your face?" It was then, only did Cornelius noticed the wizards half decomposing head.

" It was a druid. It came to aid our prey. And this?" He moved a bony hand and touched his exposed skull gently, "This was the work of that infernal paladin! I swear Cornelius, when I find that bitch, I will put her through hell before I let her expire. By the time I am done with he, she will be begging for the sweet release of death. Which I would gladly carry out her request. Now are you going to stand there all day and stare at me or are you going to help me get through this heap of bushes, you thrice damned son of a whore?! Cornelius winced at the insult. His brows began to twitch_. 'Calm down Cornelius. Just deal with the wretch a little longer._' He sighed as he controlled his anger and bitter resentment. The knigh also chose not to tell Goren that he was the one who threw the hammer off the cliff.

Cornelius walked over to the wall and laid an armored hand on the roots. He could feel it pulsing with life energy. Life was a powerful thing. It filled everything. Even the cold bodies of the undead, even in a tiny blade of grass and even in himself_. 'Life is such a wonderful thing.'_ he thought to himself_, 'sadly, it is something so easily crushed.' _At that moment, the entire wall began to wither and die. The thick roots quickly shrivel led and fell apart, revealing an empty, open path.

"Good work, death knight. I knew you were useful for something." said the necromancer as he strode past Cornelius briskly. "Oh yes." Cornelius muttered to himself. "I am very useful indeed." and stalked off after the wizard.

* * *

Karkon raced downhill to keep up with the fleet footed tauren. To his right, Karkon could see the long, beautiful stretch of sandy beaches. If he recalled correctly, the beach was called the Forgotten Coast. If not for the two minions of the Lich King after him, he would have certainly stopped and try to enjoy the view. He made a mental note to return here one day to fish when all this was over. Pushing the thought from his head, he continued to barrel down the path. Karkon did not like the idea of running away from a foe, but he certainly disliked the idea of facing one with absolutely no chance of survival.

It had gotten darker since their encounter with the death knight. The last streaks of sunlight slowly diminishing in the distance. They could not keep running all night. Eventually, they would have to stop and rest, leaving them wide open for an ambush. The orc could already feel his legs beginning to give way. The weight of the two weapons he carried began to take its toll on him. Ahead, he could see the druid slowing down, the weight he carried beginning to slow him down as well.

After several more hours of running, the group finally came to a stop near some ancient elven ruins. Nell had yet to regain consciousness. Thorka carefully laid her down on a soft patch of grass. "I have done all I can for her. Whether she lives or dies all depends on the Earth Mother now." said the tauren in a hushed tone. Karkon just grunted as usual. He stood up right and squinted his eyes to get a better look at the ruins around him. Orcs had superior night vision compared to most of the races in Azeroth. The orc could make out ancient symbols on the walls of the ruins, as well as vandalism caused by the local ogres.

Karkon guessed that this was as good a time to ask the druid some questions. "Who exactly are you? Why are you here?" he asked. The tauren turned to face the orc. "I am Thorka Fangtotem, druid of the Emerald Circle. I came to Feralas to investigate a certain vision my superior had while he dwelled in the Emerald Dream." said the druid slowly. Karkon really did not understand the part about the dream, but he chose to ignore it. "And does that vision have something to do with us?" asked the orc once more. "My master said that there was a great evil dwelling in these forests, and that it had to be stopped. He did not mention anything about two bounty-hunters, so I can only guess that you were either here by chance, or you were fated to be here." the tauren finished. Karkon really didn't understand the gibberish that the druid was talking about and once again ignored it. Instead he glanced around at the broken city walls.

"This place was once a great elven city called Eldre' Thalas. Built twelve thousand years ago by a covert sect of night elf sorcerers, the ancient city was used to protect the most prized arcane secrets of Queen Azshara. Though it was ravaged by the Great Sundering, much of the wondrous city still stands as the imposing Dire Maul. Though now its only usage is for ogre gladiators to prove their worth." said the druid. The orc solemnly nodded his head. He had no use for such information, but it never hurt to know a little history, here and there.

Both Karkon and Thorka had agreed against lighting a fire, for it would obviously attract the attention of the death knight. Being the one with the most energy at the moment, Thorka had agreed to take first watch. The orc began to protest, but later backed down as he notice how tire he really was. Their trek had tired out the orc more than he had expected. Finally he agreed with the druid. As Thorka shape-shifted once again, this time into a form of a horned lion, Karkon leaned on a boulder and let out a huge sigh. He tried to think back to the time he had first met Nell. She had saved his life back then, although he loathed to admit it, and now he was paying back the favor. Although he resents the way she had treated him for the past year, he had to admit, it was not all that bad. Before he met the elf, his life had been a bore. Full of doing what he was told and cleaning up after other peoples dirty work, but his travels with the elf had been both exciting and thrilling. Even fun at times. As he dwelled in his thoughts, the orc fell into a silent sleep.

* * *

Karkon jumped up, wide awake, as he felt something touch him. "Your a light sleeper." came a deep, husky voice from behind him. The orc turned to see Thorka standing on the boulder that Karkon had been using as a cushion. "We have to move," he said before hoping off the rock and moving to pick up Nell. Karkon inspected the surroundings. It was still rather dark. It was obviously still night time or early in the morning. He assumed that it was either midnight or early in the morning. He asked the tauren anyway. "How long has it been?" inquired the orc. The tauren gently lifted the elf and placed her over his shoulders once more, "It has been about six hours since we made camp." Karkon was genuinely surprised. It had been six hours and the death knight and his lackeys had yet to find them. Furthermore, Thorka had stayed awake the whole night, keeping watch. The tauren really did seem tired now.

Before long, the group were on te move once more, hoping to get to the nearby Horde outpost. The sun would be rising in an hour or two, which would give them the advantage of visibility once more. Karkon noticed that Thorka was moving at a slower pace than he did the previous day. He was tired and starved of sleep. It wasn't an unknown feeling to Karkon. He too had spent sleepless nights on watch before, therefore he was able to symphatize with the tauren. Karkon picked up the pace until he was walking with the druid side by side.

"Let me hold the girl." offered the orc. The tauren looked at Karkon, then towards the load he carried and then shook his head. "I cannot burden you further, my friend. You already carry those heavy weapons. Adding to your weight will merely drain you of your energy much quicker." said the druid. Karkon frowned. "It would be better if we slowed down than having you completely fall over unconscious. I simply cannot imagine myself hauling these weapons, the girl and you all the way back to Camp Mojache." said the orc sarcastically, a humorous grin appearing at the side of his lips.

The druid let out a deep chuckle before replying, "I suppose you are right, my friend. You are far wiser than you look." He lifted the elf off his shoulders and placed her in Karkon's arms. "It will only be for awhile." the druid said. "If you begin to get tired, tell me, and I will relieve you of your burden once more." The orc just nodded and once again, they continued down the path.

The group eventually came across a arcing bridge which crossed over a ravine. As they were crossing it, Karkon risked a downward glance. It was a long way down. There was a river at the bottom of the crevice. Karkon's eyes followed te river upstream and he spotted a great waterfall in the distance. The tiny silhouette of Camp Mojache was visible to the right of the waterfall.

Just as the orc's hopes begin to rise, a bony, clawed hand shot up from beneath him. The orc quickly stepped back to avoid the blow, nearly losing his balance. A rotting ghoul began to climb over the edge of the bridge, followed by another. Soon, a whole line of skeletal arms could be seen trying to get on the bridge. _'The ghouls must have been hanging under the bridge', _thought the orc. Thorka, who was already at the far end of the bridge, quickly turned around and sprinted back to assist the orc, but was cut of as the first of the ghouls finally managed to get on the bridge. The tauren took a step back and shape-shifted once more, into a huge brown bear this time with spiked fur, and started ploughing through the undead.

Karkon began to make his way back towards the other end of the bridge. He had to leave Nell in a safe place before he could assist the druid. Unfortunately, his exit was blocked by dozens of hungry looking zombies. Karkon sighed in relief. Zombies were much easier to handle compared to ghouls. He unsheathed his axe from his back and charged, wielding the two-handed weapon in one hand with ease. Karkon really had to admit, dealing with zombies was child's play. Even though he had the extra weight of another weapon and an unconscious elf on his shoulders, all he really had to do was keep swinging his ax in front of him. The mindless drones' brains were so badly decomposed that they would simply walk straight into the onslaught. After a minute of aimless swinging, there were no more undead between the orc and the end of the bridge. Karkon began to sprint but he immediately stopped in his tracks as he saw a deadlier foe appear from the shadows of the treeline.

There were five of them in total. Huge bug like creatures with two segmented body parts, a torso and an abdomen. In between the segments were six long, slender insectoid looking legs and similar arms on their torso's. Their roundish head held eight beady, little eyes which were as dark as night. Now Karkon was in trouble. He had faced these creatures before, during the Scourge incursion. They were Nerubian crypt stalkers. Spider-like warriors who were capable of tearing opponents in half with relative ease or shoot an acidic string of web which could melt through the thickest of plate armor within seconds. Glancing back, he could see that Thorka had rid the bridge of ghouls and there was no undead lurking between the orc and the druid. Satisfied, Karkon laid the paladin down on the ground and readied his axe.

Letting out his usual battle cry, the orc bent down low and charged. He did not want to be hit by one of the stalker's webs. If he had to die, he wanted to die among the dead bodies of the spiders. He was temporarily relieved when the spider creatures charged at him too. The spider swept it's clawed hand at the orc, who responded by bringing his axe up in front of him. The claw was sliced in half as in made contact with the edge of the axe, driven by it's own momentum. The creature shrieked in agony, and was soon silenced as the orc brought his axe down on it's brain. As the first nerub fell, two more came at the orc, one from each side. Karkon quickly ducked and the spiders, unable to stop in time, crashed straight into each other. The creatures reeled backwards from the awful blow and fell over the edge of the bridge and into the lake river below. Another nerub leaped onto Karkon's back from behind. The orc fell over, unable to bear the weight of the creature. He quickly rolled over as the spider fell upon him, jaws wide open. The orc grabbed the two protruding teeth and pushed with all his strength, determined to not let the spider bite him with it's poisonous fangs.

The orc then did something unexpected. He let go of one of the fangs and used his free arm to reach for his axe. Surprised that it's prey could hold it of with just one hand, the spider creature did not notice the orc driving his axe into it's neck, severing it completely. Karkon shoved the body off him and picked himself up, a huge grin on satisfaction on his face. _'Wait, wasn't there five of the creatures?'_ The smile faded from his face. The warrior knew that he had slain only four enemies. He was an orc, but he wasn't stupid either.

A loud chittering sound came from behind him and he immediately spun on his heels. The final nerubian was skittering towards Nell. Karkon cursed. The elf had picked a fine time to go into a coma. He knew that he would never make it in time. Instead, Karkon grabbed Nell's hammer which still hung at his back. He put all his strength into his arms and threw the heavy weapon. The hammer flew straight and true. It hit the nerub square in the back with a sickening crunch. The spider creature fell to the floor in a crumpled heap. Karkon was surprised. His throw was weak and was only meant to slow the spider down. He guessed that the hammer's enchantments were more potent than he thought.

Finally satisfied, the orc turned to see how Thorka was faring against his foes. He did not like what he saw. All the ghouls were obviously dead. Their remains were scattered all over the entire bridge, but the druid was lying on his back. He wasn't dead though. Karkon could see the slow rise and fall of his chest, which meant that he was breathing. Did fighting the ghouls wear him out in his already weakened state? No, the answer was much more obvious as Karkon saw who stood at the far end of the bridge. The necromancer. The very same one they had been trying to flee from. "Finally caught up, eh?" taunted the orc, readying himself once more.

The wizard smiled wickedly. "Caught up? Heh heh, you underestimate me, my friend. We were here waiting for you for hours! You were lucky though. You should thank my companion though. If not for his persuasion skills, I would have melted your skin while you slumbered!" The mention of the wizards 'companion' immediately alerted Karkon. Where was the death knight? He knew that the knight survived the fall, but where was he now? The sound of metal clanking on hard earth made the orc turn. Karkon's eyes widened as the death knight brought his sword down on him, and drew blood...

* * *

Nell was lost in darkness. She could see nothing. Hear nothing. Feel nothing. Everything was just pitch-black. Was she dead? She did not know. She could not even remember what had happened. Everything was a blur. All she knew was that she was a blood elf. A paladin. A Blood Knight. Nothing more. She also remembered a certain knight with a dark cowl. He seemed familiar. Where had she seen him before? She could not recall. She knew that she fought him and she knew that she lost. The thought angered her. Nell never liked losing. She did not know why, but she just didn't. Her anger then turned to pure hatred. Hatred at herself for losing. Hatred at the knight for besting her. Hatred for everything. She wanted revenge. Nell heard a faint whisper. She could not make out the words as it was too soft, though it gradually grew louder over time. The voice was deep and inhuman. both intimidating and melodic at the same time. It said "Follow me, and you will have your revenge." Nell did as she was told.

* * *

Karkon held his bleeding shoulder. The cut was deep,the sword having sliced easily through his thick, plate spaulders and the blood refused to clot. It was obviously part of the foul magics which enveloped the cursed runeblade the knight wielded. The death knight stood over the orc, his low hood still obscuring his features.

The knight knelt down and regarded the orc face to face. "Your death is inevitable, green skin. Now answer me, will you join me? Or will you join your little elven friend in oblivion?" asked the knight. Karkon just spat in his face. Never would he stoop so low as to aiding the forces of undead. "Another pity..." said the knight, wiping the spit of his face. He raised his blade over his head ad brought it down hard upon Karkon's skull.

For what seemed like the hundredth time in twenty four hours, the orc braced himself for death. It never came. The death knight was frozen in place, a look of surprise in his eyes. He was not looking at the orc though. He was looking behind the orc. Curiously, Karkon followed his gaze. He too was surprised at what he saw.

Nell had awakened from her coma and was beginning to pick herself up. But the elf was not what the stunned duo were looking at. The paladin had sprouted a pair of blood-red wings. They were at least 7 feet long each. Apart from that, she was bleeding an aura of killing intent. The feeling was so overwhelming that Karkon couldn't even move to get up. As the elf stood up right, she made eye contact with the orc. There was something different in her eyes. They were still crimson, as always, but now the irises emitted a faint glow. Her pupils, which were round and spherical like a human's, were now just slits, similar to those of wild raptors. Nell just blankly stared at Karkon. It sent a chill down his spine. There was something in her eyes that was not normal. Something that would freeze the blood of men on the spot.

Something...Demonic...

To be continued...

* * *

JJ: Well, Nell is back. Thats some good news. The longest chapter I written so far now...

Karkon: Good. Now go study, you have an essay to write.

JJ: Hang on a sec!, I have to write te preview for the next chapter!

Karkon: No. Essay. Now.

Drags JJfats away

JJ: NOOOOoooooo My stories!!


	6. Red Angel

JJ: Hehe. Nell is seriously pissed now. I pity that death knight.

Karkon: Your pitying someone who you are going to kill in your story?

JJ: It's just a figure of speech...

Karkon: Hey, I'm just saying. It really makes no sense from if you look at it in a certain way.

JJ: True...Anyway, lets see what horrendous ideas I can come up with to torture Cornelius.

Karkon: I'm sure you will think of something interesting. **Disclaimer** - World of Warcraft does not belong to JJfats.

* * *

Chapter 6

Nell was just standing there, staring, an evil look in her eyes. Her cold glare seemed to pierce straight through his body. That was when Karkon realized that it was piercing through his body. Nell was looking at the death knight behind Karkon. At that moment,the orc noticed that the death knight was twitching nervously behind him. He could tell that he wanted to get away from the elf's gaze, but he couldn't move, as if Nell's stare had some accursed paralyzing magic in it. Karkon knew how the knight felt. He too wanted to avoid those blood red eyes, but his legs refused to move.

The paladin began to move forward, her wings spread out behind her. Bright scarlet feathers peeled away with every step she took, falling slowly and evaporating into flames as it touched the ground. Every time her foot touched the ground, the earth sizzled with a slight flame and the grass withered and died. All the while, her stare never lifted. She moved ever closer with each passing moment. To the orc, it felt like a eternity. Time seemed grind to a halt as the elf got closer. Soon, Nell was jut an arms length away from Karkon. Snapping out of his paralyzed state, the death knight swiftly lifted his runeblade once more, intending to impale the orc through his back and use his body as a shield. Before the orc could react, the knight thrust hi weapon into Karkon's back.

A sharp pain crossed the orc's chest. It was nigh unbearable. This was it. He was finally going to die. He was beginning to believe that the Ancestors wanted to preserve him, but he guessed he was wrong. The orc closed his eyes and prepared to pass on. After several seconds, Karkon realized that he was not dead or dying. Moreover, he also noticed that the pain was not coming from his back, but his chest, although he could still feel the tip of the knight's blade poking at his back. He opened his eyes and was staring straight into the mad, red eyes of Nell. She was barely an inch away from his face. It was almost as if she could not see the orc. Her attention focused solely on the death knight. Karkon noticed that Nell had placed a glowing, gauntleted hand on the spot where the pain was coming from. The orc's eyes widened in horror as his green flesh around the elf's palm began turning a dark scarlet. Recognition began to hit him. He had felt this sensation before. He had felt the foul magic that Nell was using on him before. It was demonic fel energy.

Karkon then realized what was happening, Nell was channeling fel energy through his chest to his back, repelling the death knight's blade. For a brief instant, Karkon was enraged at the fact of the paladin abusing his body in such a way. The thought of having such foul magics crossing his body was disgusting. He quickly abolished the thought. At least it was better than being dead, he concluded.

The death knight tried even harder to push his blade through, but it just would not budge. The glow on Nell's hand intensified as the elf sent a huge surge of energy though the orc's chest. The force was so violent that it completely repelled the death knights blade as if two like sides of a magnet had come together, launching the death knight several meters into the air. The orc fell to his knee's grasping his chest in pain. His skin turned back into its grey-green shade, but a black scar remained at he spot where the evil energies had burned him.

The knight quickly recovered and picked himself up. He readied his blade and charged at Nell. Unfazed, Nell just stood there and waited for him to come. The knight thrust his blade at her but the elf dodged it easily with lightning speed, and brought her armored boot to the knights face, just as fast. The blow sent the knight flying once more and he landed in a heap several meters from Nell.

Karkon sat quietly in a corner, observing the battle. He was too injured to help the elf, although he really wanted too, he knew he would be a liability if he joined. Looking at the confrontation now, he was sure that the elf would eventually win. The question now was what was she going to do after that? The orc believed that it could not possibly be anything good.

* * *

_'This is not right. It can't be right'_ were the thoughts that were passing through Cornelius' brain the moment the elf girl kicked him. It was surprising enough when the girl had gotten up after being in a near death state for so long, yet alone be stronger than she was before. She might even be stronger than the death knight himself. Cornelius quickly purged the thought. Self doubt was one of the things which causes failure. No, he needed to concentrate, that is all.The paladin girl was buried in fel energies, giving her immense strength. Not only that, her hatred seemed to be fueling that energy, causing the aura to grow more powerful with each passing second. Luckily, the power came from rage, and like he said before, rage clouds judgment. Raw power is not always the key to victory. Even though the elf was more powerful than before, all he had to do was out smart her like before.He only did not understand the significance of the wings which had sprouted from her back. They were too small to allow the fully armored paladin flight and too big for the girl to balance on land. From all angles, it was more of a burden than of any help.

Still, judging from the speed the girl moved, he guessed that they weren't that much of a liability after all. The knight stood up right and flexed his shoulder muscles. Good, he thought. Nothing broken. Already, a brilliant plan was forming in his head. He had to tread carefully from now on. If he made even the slightest of miscalculations, he would end up dead. After making sure he had all the facts noted, he crouched into a fighting position and took a few steps back. It was a smart move. He was now in a good position where he could go easily on the offense or defense.

Cornelius charged at Nell, driving his blade in a wicked upward arc. Nell stepped back and the blow missed. The death knight did not let up the attack. He slashed at her again and again, each attack being nimbly dodged by the elf. After several more blows, Cornelius had the elf where he wanted her. She was so concentrated on avoiding the knights attacks that she neglected to see where she was going. Cornelius had driven her to the edge of the bridge. She now had no where to dodge without the risk of falling off. The knight brought his blade down on the elf once more, putting all his power into it. Without any other option, Nell unsheathed her extra blades which still hung from her belt raised them in defense. Red sparks exploded from the impact as steel met with steel.

The dwarfish blades vibrated violently, but did not break. A smile crept across Cornelius' face. As expected, the demonic aura the elf emitted were not only strengthening herself, but her weapons too. Perfect, he thought. Slowly, with his left hand, he let go of the sword, holding off the berserk elf with only one arm. He only had one shot at her. He needed to take her down with just one blow, for he knew he would never get the chance ever again if he failed. Concentrating all his energy in the palm of his left hand, the knight punched the elf in the abdomen. The humongous amounts of undeath energies accumulated in his hand joined with the horrible aura of demonic power of the elf had devastating results. As the two powers met, there was a great flash of blinding light. It was soon followed by a deafening explosion which shook the world to the core.

* * *

Once again, Karkon did not know if he was dead or alive. When the death knight had struck Nell with his left hand, there was a blinding light, followed by a force which threw the orc a great deal. As the light began to die down, Karkon noticed that he and the tauren had been blown all the way to the other end of the bridge where the necromancer was standing. The thought of the wizard sent a chill down the orc's spine. His eyes quickly darted around, searching for the threat. He notice a pool of blood was growing from behind him. When the orc looked back, he had found his answer. The necromancer was impaled by a jagged spire of rock. It seemed that when the orc got blown back by the blast, he slammed into the wizard, thus sending the necromancer flying straight into the spike.

Karkon slowly began limping back to the other side of the bridge, where he last saw the two warriors. He wasn't surprised to find a huge crater there. He was surprised by the fact that the death knight was standing in the middle of it, alone, and looking rather unscathed. The knight seemed to finally realized that he was alone in the crater. He began to laugh. It was an eerie laugh that shook Karkon to the bone. The death knight was unharmed and was still full of energy. It wasn't a good sign for the orc. As quietly as he could, Karkon slipped away. He was no coward, but he did not want to get the tauren involved. He did not like seeing someone killed before he repaid his debt. As he made his way back to the safe end of the bridge, something caught his eye. Where was Nell's hammer? A shadow flashed passed him. The orc glanced skyward and his eyes widened. Adrenaline pumped into his veins and he scurried towards the safety of the other end of the bridge.

* * *

_'I Won!'_, were the only thoughts passing through Cornelius' brain. He had overcame impossible odds and defeated someone who had almost quadruple his power. The knight was ecstatic. Adrenaline was coursing through his veins even though there were no more immediate threats. He began to wonder how powerful he really was. Even more so than the Lich King himself? Probably, but he dared not test the lord of death knights. Movement caught the knight's attention. He saw the elf's pet orc turning and running away. Even an orc was afraid of him! The fearless orcs! He must have looked mighty indeed to have struck fear into one who knew not its meaning.

A winged shadow began to grow under Cornelius' bulky form. At first, he dismissed it as just being a bird. Then he wonder what kind of bird could be so huge. Then he noticed that the shadow was not moving away from him, it was growing bigger, and that meant it was coming towards him from directly above. What kind of bird would dive vertically down at him? Realization began to dawn on the death knight. He risked a fearful glance upwards and gaped at the sight he beheld.What came at him certainly was not a bird. What came at him was the flaming form of the paladin girl, wings spread out wide, and falling down at him like an infernal from hell, hammer poised to strike. He guessed that he was wrong about those wings.

* * *

The demon had taken over the girl's body. She had no control or consciousness whatsoever. Her mind, body and soul was under direct command of the demon. Everything up to this point was the work of the demon. The preservation of the orcs life, the defense as the death knight charged the girl's body, the flight up into the worlds atmosphere when the knight released his devastating attack, and finally now, hurtling down towards the ground with bone-breaking speed. The friction of the atmosphere had caused fire to engulf the girl's body. It did not matter. The demon's aura was too powerful to be dispelled by mere heat. Now, the demon held the girl's hammer high, awaiting the ground, where it will smash the death knight into a pulp.

The demon was born into this world for a single reason.It was born for the sole purpose of preserving itself.And to preserve itself, it had to preserve it's host. The demon would obliterate anything which threatens it's host. It would tear apart any enemy that stood in it's way.It would completely destroy the death knight who now stood there,staring in horror at the girl. It would do everything to protect the girl, and to protect the girl, it would destroy everything.

* * *

Karkon grunted with exhaustion as he finally pulled the unconscious tauren behind a huge boulder. The death knight's earlier attack was powerful, but the orc knew that Nell's was going to be much worse. He reckoned that the huge boulder would be big enough to shield them from the destruction that was about to come. Karkon limped to the side of the huge rock and peered out. The flaming, winged form of the paladin was almost upon the death knight. Faster than he thought possible, the orc retreated back behind the rock and braced for the impact.

Just as he thought. The power of this attack was immense. It almost felt as ifa second Great Sundering was about to happen. Karkon put his back to the boulder. Flames of scorching heat slammed into the boulder and nearly engulfed it whole. Even though he was taking cover behind it, Karkon swore that he fel his flesh slowly melting. Soon, the flames had all but blinded the orc and the heat was intensifying with each passing moment. Just when the orc thought that he would melt on the spot,the air began to cool and the flames slowly died down. Still, the orc dared not step out from the relative safety of the boulder.

After confirming that it was safe, the orc finally came out of hiding. The first thing he noticed was that the huge boulder he had used for shelter was now reduced to the size of the orc himself. Another miraculous stroke of luck. The rest of the forest was not so lucky.What lay before him was not the peaceful, evergreen jungle of Feralas. Instead, now there was an even bigger smoking crate than before. The waterfall had completely dried up and the land was barren and ashen.The remains of the trees that survived the initial impact were now burning or smoldering chunks of coal. Far into the distance, the orc could make out the slight outline of jungle and vegetation. At least the whole forest did not get destroyed.

Looking towards the center of the crater, Karkon found who he was looking for. The death knight laid motionless on his back, his armor melted and broken. Coincidentally, his cowl still covered half his face. Nell stood before the knight. She wasn't in such a good shape as well. Her crimson wings were gone and her armor looked worse for wear. Her left spaulder was completely disintegrated and the gaping hole where the death knight had slashed her was still there. The once purple-black ornate armor was now covered in dirt and soot. Only her hammer was completely unscathed. It still gleamed in the sunlight and the purple rock which made its head didn't even have a crack on it.

Karkon limped towards her. On closer inspection, He noticed that she was breathing heavily. Her pupils had reverted back to its normal, oval shape and her. Something sharp and pointy in the elf's mouth caught his attention. The orc stared at shock at the new discovery.The elf had fangs! How did he not notice that? He had been traveling with her for a year and failed to notice that! Karkon decided that it was time for her to answer some questions. Before he could start,the death knight began to move. Karkon leapt back, startled. How did the knight manage to survive such an attack?The orc lifted his axe and began to painfully charge at the knight, only to be stopped by Nell, who raised up her arm and blocked his path.

"I have a few questions for him. You can have your fun later." she said grimly, still heaving from exertion. The elf walked over and knelt beside the knight. She grabbed his cowl and pulled it back. For the first time, the duo saw what their assailant looked like. He had glowing green eyes, like a blood elf's, but his ears were significantly shorter. They were pointy but there was also a certain roundness to them which made him look almost human.

"As I thought," said Nell, "Half blood elf. That explains your human name. Your father must have been one." The knight coughed up a handful of blood and gave a weak smile.

"Aye, lass," he said, "You have a great deal of power on your hands. Too bad you chose not to join us, not that it mattered. Your power reeks of the Burning Legion. Lord Arthas would never accept one like you into our ranks."

"Good." retorted the elf, scowling. She glanced at Karkon, fearing that he had heard what the knight had said. He, of course, had heard and was now glaring murderously at the elf. She knew she was going to have to explain a lot later.

"What were you planning to do in Desolace?" Nell asked, putting her hand to his neck.

"Hah! You can't threaten me paladin! I know my own demise when I see it!" Cornelius spat. Pain shot through his body and he grimaced at it. He let out a sigh and began speaking once more. "We were not heading for Desolace. We were on our way to Winterspring."

This news confused Nell. Winterspring? What could the Lich King want in Winterspring? "Why?" She asked.

"Have you heard of the Titan Beasts of Azeroth, milady?" queried the dying knight.

"An old wives tale. Myths of four giant creatures ruling over the lands when the world was still young. What does this have to do with legends?"

"Legends? Myths? You are mistaken, lass. The beasts did exist and they are long extinct as well."

"So? what use does Arthas have for a bunch of skeletal remains-" The thought struck Nell like a cannon ball. Arthas was king of the undead, with the ability to raise the dead. What would happen if he had beasts the size of Blackrock Mountain at his disposal? Nell tightened the grip on the knight's neck, making him gag and choke for air.

"Where are the other beasts?" she questioned furiously, almost shouting.

"T-there is one in Un'Gorro Crater, another resides in a secret chamber within Karazhan, tower of the last guardian, Medivh. The final one has already been raised by Lord Arthas, for it was found in Northrend.It was what led the Lord to believe that there were others."coughed the knight. He seemed to be drowning in his own blood.

"Why do you tell us this information, death knight?" asked Nell suspiciously. The knight smiled weakly, a look of satisfaction in his eye.

"Because, there were ten groups of two sent to each beast to recover them. It only takes two groups to raise the beasts.I know what you are thinking, lass. I tell you this because..I know...you will not stop them in time. Paladin...you...will...fail.."

And with that...the death knight's eyes glazed over and Cornelius Breakwater expired.

To be continued...

* * *

JJ: And there we have it folks. Its been a though week. All my WoW friends were calling saying "I WANT IN ON YOUR STORY." I even have a full waiting list of characters to add in now.

Xante: Yea! When will I appear?

JJ: Uh...

Myu: And me!

JJ: Wait a sec...

Splinterz: Hey! What about me?

JJ: I thought you were deleted...

Alastorz: Ahem...

JJ: AH! GOOD GOD! SHUT UP! Well folks, see you next time. Please look foward for the next chapter. Flames/Constructive Crit. are both fine.

Barley McFrothbeard: I'd say we roun' up all these red-eyed demon freaks an' send 'em right back to Outland with their pointed tails between their-

JJ: Thats enough now!


	7. Dwelling in the past

JJ: And so begins chapter 7. Good riddance to Cornelius. Writing about him just bored the heck out of me.

Karkon: I'm just glad I didn't have to do anything to kill that necromancer.

JJ: Haha. Indeed. In this chapter, we take a look back in the past.

Thorka: ...I feel weak...

JJ: Eh, deal with it. **Disclaimer** please.

Karkon: World of Warcraft does not belong to JJfats.

* * *

Chapter 7

Several days later, the trio were making their way back to Horde territory. The hike back to Ratchet was neither easy nor short. They had to cross the winding paths of the Thousand Needles, take the Great Lift up to the Barrens and make a weeks trek all the way to the Crossroads. From there, it would be smooth sailing all the way down to Ratchet. Unfortunately, weather was not on their side. The minute they sat foot over the border,they were greeted by a dust storm.It was getting late and the last rays of light were beginning to fade. It was almost certain that they would get lost in a storm at night, so they decided to make camp near the Feralas border.

Fortunately, by dawn the next day, the storm had subsided and the group was able to make good time. Although, the trio traveled in awkward silence. A hard-faced Nell led the group at the front, followed by Karkon, who was walking quite a distance behind the elf, and finally Thorka at the rear, confused as to why Karkon was avoiding the girl (He was unconscious half the time, remember).The trio arrived at Whitereach Post by noon, just before another storm began. They were greeted by a friendly faced tauren by the name of Mortega Firemane, who provided them with supplies and shelter from the oncoming storm.

The storm continued until nightfall. The group set up camp at the outskirts of the Horde outpost, kindly refusing the offer of lodging given by Firemane. Nell sat next to their campfire, while Karkon, still suspicious, sat at the opposite side of the fire, untrusting eyes never peering away from the girl for more than a second or two. Thorka was having a fascinating conversation with a goblin engineer about strange gizmos and the like.

After several more hours, Nell finally broke the silence. "You know, you are going to have to stop staring at me. Or do I have to help you do that too?" she asked, finally getting annoyed with the constant breach of privacy.

"What are you?" said the orc. That was surprisingly straightforward of him, thought Nell. He must have been really pissed when she revealed her true form.

"Its none of your business." Nell replied blandly before lying on the ground and rolling to her side, facing away from the orc. Karkon, wanting answers now, got up , strode over to the elf, and kicked her in the back, flipping her over so that she was facing him again.

"Ouch," she said in her usual flat tone. She was obviously faking it. The orc's kick was hard, but not hard enough to hurt someone in such high quality armor like Nell's. The orc reached down and grabbed her by the neck, lifting her off the ground one handed. The elf showed no expression of surprise, pain or suffocation. She just continued to stare blankly at the orc with her crimson eyes, highlighted by the orange flames of the fire.

"You will tell me what you really are, and you will tell me NOW, girl." Karkon growled. This action finally caught Thorka's attention, who came rushing over.

"What are you doing, warrior? Put her down! She is your ally!" he shouted.

"My ally? I never considered her that. And now that she showed her true colors, I am even more doubtful of her than I ever was before. Do not stop me, druid. She will explain everything now!" the orc tightened his grip on the elf's neck, "Or I will snap her in half, like the little twig she is."

Obviously confused, Thorka continued to protest.

"This is madness, warrior. What do you mean by true colors? She has done no wrong! She-"

"Done nothing wrong?", roared Karkon, " There is something wrong with this girl! She harbours a great evil within her and I will not be in party with her until I know the truth!" As he finished, he threw the elf down. "Now, speak! What are you?"

"Enough!", yelled the druid. Stepping in between the orc and elf."I cannot just stand and watch as you beat on someone who refuses to fight back! I will not allow you to-"

"Stop it, druid" Nell cut in, picking her self up. She glared at Karkon. The orc could see the usual emotions in her eyes. Hate, resentment, anger, but wait...there was something else there. Karkon couldn't believe it. Was there a hint of sadness in those unforgiving, blood red eyes? "Fine. I can't hide it anymore. I will tell you my story. I hope that after that, you will stop looking at me as if I had just grown another head."

Karkon was stunned that Nell had agreed to it so easily. He stood there opened mouthed for a moment or two before nodding. Nell sighed and began telling her story.

"Let us start from the beginning. I am Nellera Brightarch, the youngest of five siblings.The Brightarch line is long and respected, spanning back around twelve generations."

"Twelve elven generations of paladins? That is a long time." Thorka commented. Karkon remained silent. He knew that the elf did not like to be cut off like that. He was right, of course. Nell sighed again in annoyance at the interruption, but kept her anger in check.

"Yes indeed, druid. Twelve elven generations is a long time, but I did not say that my family was respected for being blood knights. My kind only began following the ways of the Light fifteen years ago. Heck, even the humans did not have paladins back then.", she replied, putting a certain edge in her voice. Thorka got the picture and remained silent. Nell continued.

"No, my ancestors were not paladins. The Brigharch name was respected for their spell casters. Mages, priests, warlocks, battle-casters, anything to do with magic." Nell emphasized 'spell casters', her voice full of malice.

"I'm guessing that you were the first to break the blood line," queried the orc. Nell stared at Karkon for a moment. He knew better than to interrupt her. She then realized that the orc was trying to test her patience. In a way, she couldn't blame him. Therefore, she held her tongue.

"Correct, I am the very first of my line to not become a spell caster. In truth, I was born with the affinity with the Holy Light. My family had decided then that I would become a priestess for the rest of my life." The elf gave out yet another sigh and continued, "I was young and naive then. I did not wish to be kept in a temple,fasting five times a week and healing everyone with a scratch. I always had the dream of seeing the world outside the Silvermoon gates. Luckily for me, three years after my birth, the academy of blood knights was introduced."

"And you immediately joined?" asked Thorka. Nell shook her head, disappointed.

"I was only three summers old back then. Were you not listening to a thing I was saying?" the tauren looked away, clearly embarrassed.

"No,it was thirteen years later. Lady Liadrin approached my family and requested that I would personally train under her guidance. My family, of course refused, but they had no right to speak for me.They had no power in the presence of the lady. Only I could decide, and obviously, I accepted her offer."

"What did your family say about that?" asked the orc, raising an eyebrow. Nell winced.Karkon could tell that the elf really did not want to talk about the next part. He decided that he shouldn't push her too far, although he wanted to find out what really happened. He figured it would be enough for now, but before he could say anything,Nell, to the orc's utmost surprise,continued her story.

"My family was furious." She said. There was a slight hint of sadness in her voice. Her expression looked as if she was going to burst into tears at any second, but it was only for a moment. She immediately recovered and continued in her same arrogant tone again.

"My parents disowned me the next day. I was kicked out of my home by my own blood kin. My father, mother, and my three sisters sent me out the door without sympathy or remorse." Karkon was surprised at the new information. He had always thought that the elf had been a spoiled, rich brat who one day decided to leave home for a life filled with adventure. Instead, her true story was actually much similar to his own. He too had been exiled from his clan.

"I wandered around Silvermoon, not knowing what to do next. I should have reported to Lady Liadrin, but I did not have the courage to tell her back then. Finally, as the last light of the day began to die, I met my brother." Karkon and Thorka both raised an eyebrow. Nell ignored them.

"My brother was the oldest among us siblings. He was a successful mage and had long ago moved out of my family's home and had purchased one for himself. Unlike my parents and sisters, my brother took the time to listen to my story. On top of that, he offered me shelter in his home. So to me, my brother is also like my Savior."

A smile played across Nell's face. For the first time in his life, Karkon saw Nell gave a genuine smile. Not the insane, psychotic , blood lusting smile she had in battle, but a real smile. A happy smile.

* * *

10 Years Ago...

Another soft whimper was heard from the other room. Viridiel Brightarch sighed. She was still crying? He guessed it was to be expected. Their parents had disowned her and kicked her out of her home. It must have been hard for her to accept it. Viridiel had encountered his youngest sister by the fountain near the palace. She had told him her story, of how she had accepted Lady Liadrin's offer and how badly she was treated by her own family. Deep within him, Viridiel felt a great disgust for his family. How could they do that to their own daughter? Just because she wanted to be different. It was her choice, her life, not theirs. They had no right whatsoever to have done that to her.

For a moment, Viridiel thought about having a talk with his father to make him take back his words and forgive Nell. He immediately dropped the idea. It would be of no use. Old Anetelas Brightarch was a strict and vigorous man, like all Brightarchs before him. He shared their ancestors ambition to have a family lineage of pure spell casters. Now that Nellera had spoiled that, their father could not live with the shame. Viridiel sighed once more. His family sure was terrible.

Finally putting his ink quill down, Viridiel decided that he should have a talk with his sister. He really wanted to finish writing his book, but he knew that family came first. As he entered the room, he noticed that she was still curled in a fetal position in the same corner since she arrived here. She did not even look up a Viridiel entered the room. She just continued to sob and sulk. _'She must be even more depressed than I thought. This might take awhile.'_ Cautiously, he approached the girl.

"Nellera, your still crying?" he asked. It was obvious that she still was, but he asked anyway.

"J-just leave me alone." she replied, in between sobs.

"Come now, sister. You have to put this behind you eventually."

"Could you handle this situation that easily?!" Nell shouted, finally lifting up her head. Tears were streaming down from her crimson eyes. "You don't know what it is like! You were always father's favorite! How would you know how it is like!?" Viridiel was stunned into silence. She was right. He did not know how it must have felt like to her. Nell was the black sheep of the family. Not only did she stain the Brightarch family name, she didn't even have the eyes of a blood elf.

"No, I don't know how you feel." he admitted. "But I can tell you one thing. I am proud of your decision. Father and mother may not be, but I am." Nell looked at her brother in utter surprise. She had thought that her brother had taken her in out of pity.

"It is your life, Nellera. Not theirs. They cannot make decisions for you. You chose to be different. So what? You are still my sister and I will always love you." as he finished, he could see that Nell had softened up a little.

"I'm sorry, brother. I spoke out of turn." she apologized solemnly. Viridiel smiled and pat her on the head.

"It is alright. Come now, sister. You can slumber in my room. I will stay in the living room." he offered.

"N-no, you are to generous, brother. I can't possibly take your room! My training takes two years!"

"Nonsense. I have been living in a cave for ten years while I was an initiate into the college of magic! Compared to that, this living room is luxury!" he said with a smile. Nell shivered as he mentioned that. She had heard about her brother's ten year isolation. It was said that all mages needed to do it to become a full fledged blood mage.

"A-alright brother, but I will repay your hospitality one day! When I become a blood knight!" with that, she left for her brother's room. After she was gone, Viridiel laid back on the expensive red velvet sofa. It really was more comfortable than the cave floor. He closed his eyes and dozed off, smiling as he dreamed of his father's expression if Nell really did become famous.

* * *

8 years ago...

Viridiel Brightarch put down his ink quill. He had finally completed his third book on the mysteries of the arcane. Over the past two years, his previous volumes had been invaluable to the college of magic, gaining him a reputation which rivaled that of his own family's.

He gave himself a satisfied smile. He wasn't the only one who had made a reputation for himself. Over the past two years, Nellera had excelled in her own studies. She was at the top of her class and was Lady Liadrin's favorite student. Today was a big day for Nell. It was the day of her graduation test. Viridiel peered at the arcane clock hanging on the wall. It was ten minutes to noon. He made his way to Nell's room. (Previously his) The girl was still cuddled under the bed sheets, fast asleep. Viridiel sighed inwardly. She had matured a lot during the two years of her training, but she was still his ditzy little sister.

With a wave of his hand, a ball of pulsing light appeared. As it slowly floated towards the sleeping elf, Viridiel quickly retreated out of the room and covered his ears. A moment later, a deafening explosion was heard. Even though he was covering his ears, they still hurt. Viridiel reentered the room to see Nell lying in a heap on the floor. She picked herself up and glared angrily at her brother.

"Brother! I thought I told you to stop using that trick on me!" she yelled. Viridiel just laughed.

"Haha. I know, Nellera, but I could not help myself."

"Jeez."

"Anyway, If you want me to stop doing that, you should learn to wake yourself up." Nell just sighed.

"Yes brother...What time is it anyway."

"Five minutes to noon." Nell gaped at her brother before rushing out the door like a rabid wolverine. "Tell me that sooner! Your an idiot, brother!" she yelled as she ran. Viridiel heard the front door slam close as he exited Nell's room. A playful grin crept across his face.

"Good luck, Nellera." He whispered before pulling on his cloak and setting off to submit his latest piece of work to the college of magic.

* * *

Later that day, as Viridiel expected, Nellera passed the test with flying colors. Both he and her were invited by Lady Liadrin to the Silvermoon inn to celebrate the graduation of the latest batch of blood knights. At the feast, Nell had told him about the test. She was sent to the an island in the Ghostlands to light a fire on an old brazier. When she did, a blood knight by the name of Sangrias Stillblade jumped out of hiding and attacked her. Nell had easily overpowered him but had also accidentally killed him in the process. Nell said that she had panicked and began to drag his body all the way back to Silvermoon. Lady Liadrin was genuinely surprised when Nell returned, dragging a dead body with her. Apparently, she was supposed to leave the body there and allow other blood knights to retrieve it later.

Nellera was later told to collect some essence from the light creature which was hidden under the blood knight academy. Nellera' description of the creature was amusing. It did not have a constant shape, yet it was pulsing with life. She said it was something called a naaru. After that, with the essence, Nellera was able to resurrect knight Stillblade. Dieing and coming back from the dead did not seem appealing to Viridiel. His suspicions were confirmed when he spotted knight Stillblade in a corner, looking as if he was going to throw up.

The following day, Nell announced to Viridiel that she would be leaving Silvermoon to begin her adventures. Although saddened by the news, he knew that this day would eventually come, and thus, he was prepared for it. He made a mistake by telling his father about it. Viridiel should have known better. When he told his family about Nellera leaving Silvermoon, the all scoffed and said good riddance. Viridiel left their home furiously. They still hadn't accepted Nellera's wishes. Even after her two year absence.

A week later, Nellera was all prepared to depart. She and four of her fellow blood knights were to depart on foot to the Undercity, crossing through the dreaded Plaguelands. It was a perilous journey, but somehow, Viridiel knew that she could handle it. He was at the front gates of Silvermoon to see her off. Giving her a tight hug before she left.

Viridiel Brightarch returned to his quarters. He held his head high, both proud and happy for his little sister. Little did he know, that they were both being shadowed.

* * *

"Come on Nell! We aren't making good time!" shouted Nero Dawnsong. One of the graduates who was accompanying Nell.

"I'm coming already! Jeez!" she retorted. Nell was lagging behind the group. Not because she had less stamina to keep up, but because she thought that they were being followed. It was unnerving. Anything could be following them in the dreaded Plaguelands. They had already encountered various kinds of monstrosities ranging from the typical undead zombie to the huge disgusting abominations that roamed the land. With all these obstructions in the way, there was no way that they could reach the Undercity by the appointed time.

Nell caught up with the rest of the group. They too, were on their guard. They had been ambushed several times and all of them had come close to death at least once on this journey. She examined her companions and tried to recall what had happened so far. Nero was a great fighter, but he was also the brains of the group. It was as if every enemy weakness and map were branded right into his skull. Following close behind him was Coria Boughstrider, the only other female in the group apart from Nell. Her left eye was swathed in bandages. When the group was fighting an abomination, Coria had severed a limb which sprayed acid blood onto her eye. The wound was sadly unhealable. Nell winced as she tried to imagine how painful it might have felt. The last two were twins by the name of Althaniar and Arthoriar Morningray. They were inseparable. They did everything together. They always fought back-to-back, creating a nigh invincible defense. All of them were armed with long blades and a mithril shield, apart from Coria, who wielded a wicked looking lance.

That night, the group set up camp on the outskirts of Darrowshire, a town ravaged and crumbled by the undead. Nell shivered as the last rays of light disappeared. The undead were more active at night. Further more, they were going to start a camp fire which would obviously alert the dead to their presence, but it was necessary or the paladins would freeze to death. Coria offered to take first watch, as usual, while the twins fell asleep almost instantly. Nero took out his quill and papers and began writing his report for the day. In truth, they were all supposed to write one too, but only Nero was hard working enough to keep up to date with his work. Nell figured that she had better start writing her own report soon.

Movement caught Nell's eye, but by the time she spun around to inspect what it was, whatevr had caused the disturbance had disappeared. She could have sworn that something was there.

"Jumpy, aren't you?" asked Nero, who had noticed Nell peering suspiciously at the surrounding. Nell sighed.

"I can't shake the feeling that something is out there. Watching us." she replied.

"There is always something out there watching us." Nero said, dully.

"Too true..." Nell stood up intending to walk over to her pack and retrieve a bottle of water. The minute she stood up, a crossbow bolt whizzed past her head, so close that it cut off a few strands of her hair. The bolt had narrowly missed her, but Althaniar was not so lucky. He was still asleep when the bolt pierced his skull and punctured his brain. Coria and Nero sprang to their feet, scrambling for their weapons. Arthoriar, on the other hand, was kneeling beside his brother's corpse, a look of shock on his face.

After closer inspection, Nell saw their assailants. They were tall and lithe and wore heavy cloaks which shrouded their body. Long scarfs were wrapped around their heads, obviously to conceal their identity. They were obviously not dead as well. Nell guessed that these were the people whom she caught glimpses of while they were traveling. Nell charged at her foes, not looking behind to see if her fellow knights were following her. The ferocious war cry that pierced the air confirmed that for her and she was filled with a sense of reassurement for she knew that someone had her back.

* * *

The sounds of battle were ringing all around him, but to Arthoriar, they were nothing but faint clangs in the distance. His brother was dead. No, that could not be. He and Althaniar had been inseparable since birth. They had played together, laughed together, cried together, joined the academy together, graduated together. They had the same life. If Althaniar was dead, then...

Arthoriar just stood there in shock. Tears were streaming down his face as he sobbed uncontrollably. The last thing Arthoriar Morningray heard was the whizzing of another crossbow bolt right before it lodged itself right in between his eyes.

* * *

Nell screamed with rage as she saw Arthorir die. She had liked the twins. They were always cheerful and happy and always thinking of the finer things in life. Now they were dead. She ducked a blow from one of her assailants and jabbed her sword into his gut. A gurgling scream ripped through the night. Nell finished of her opponent and turned to look for the source of the shriek. Her eyes widened as she saw Coria fall, two daggers in her back, buried to the hilt. With one last act of defiance, she threw her lance which impaled another opponent and pinned him to a giant mushroom. Coria managed a weak smile before she herself died.

Anger filled the paladin. She let out a scream an started slashing left and right. Where ever her blade went, blood was spilt. Strings of brilliant crimson smeared Nell's face, weapon and armor. A cloud of red filled her vision. Her body began to move on its own, as if acting on instinct. Nell could feel more and more adrenaline pumping through her veins.Finally, there were not more than ten of their assailants left. Nero was fending off three of them at once. Nell moved to aid him, but was blocked by another two.

Nell raised her sword and brought it down as hard as she could. Her opponent lifted his own blade to parry, but the old blade shattered as it made contact with Nell's new, high-quality sword. Her blade bit into her opponents shoulder and severed his entire limb off. Nell ignored him and charged at the other figure blocking her way. This assassin was quicker though, and managed to barely dodge Nell's lunge. The tip of her blade caught the assassin's scarf and ripped it off.

Nell stared, wide-eyed in surprise. What stood before her was not human, troll or undead at all. The assassin was a blood elf! Just like her and her fellow blood knights. A heavy blow from behind made Nell stumble. Her vision began to blur and she could barely stand. She tried to recover, but another blow to the back of her head stopped her in her tracks. As Nell fell forward, losing consciousness. The last thing she saw was Nero's arm being ripped from it's socket.

To be continued...

* * *

JJ: And so concludes chapter 7. Flash back has not ended yet. Which is pretty sad in my opinion. There isa new character I wanna add and this flashback is killing me...

Xante: That character is gonna be me right? Right?

JJ: No...not you...

Xante: Come one! At least give me a hint! I wanna know who is gonna get the role... (So I can backstab him and take his place. Hehehe)

JJ: I saw that dude...You know, I am typing all this stuff out...

Xante:...whoops...

JJ: Anyway, please look forward to next chapter. Flames/Consturctive Crit. both allowed.


	8. The Offer

JJ: Right. Finally, chapter 8. I get to add another character to the group.

Karkon: And who might that be?

JJ: Its a secret! I'll introduce him after Nell's flashback.

Karkon: ...

JJ: what?

Karkon: What you just said...sounds like spoilers...

JJ:...**Disclaimer **please...

Karkon: World of Warcraft does not belong to JJfats.

* * *

Chapter 8

Nellera Brightarch's eyes snapped wide open. The first thing she saw was nothing. Her surroundings were almost pitch black. Her vision was blurry and the back of her head hurt like hell. It took a while for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. Now she could see a little clearer. The first thing she noticed was that she was in a huge cage. On the outside of the cage, she saw a campfire. The flames were not like anything that Nell had ever seen. Instead of giving off a pale yellow glow from orange flames, the fire was a vile green. It cast an eerie glow on the surrounding area. Around the fire slept five blood elfs, all clad in a dark cloak.

It was all coming back to Nell now. She and her posse were ambush by blood elven assassins. Her fellow blood knights were slaughtered mercilessly. Anger clouded her thoughts as images of her friends dieing one by one flashed through her mind. She knew not the reason why they did it, but she intended to pay them back, tenfold. As she stealthily tried to stand up, a hand patted her on the shoulder, making her jump in surprise. Nell spun around, fists first. She stopped them mere inches from the man's face, eyes widening in recognition.

"Nero?" she asked softly.

"The one and only." Nero Dawnsong replied weakly. "Glad to see you've finally decided to wake up." He was surprised when Nell wrapped her arms around him in a great hug. Nero unconsciously returned it.

"I thought you were dead! Thank the Light, you survived!" she exclaimed.

"Not fully though." he said, a pang of sadness in his voice.

"What do you-" Nell began, but stopped herself as she looked to where his right arm was. Wondering why he only hugged her back with one arm. She gasped in horror. Nero's arm was not there anymore. The only thing left was a stump on his shoulder. Nell looked back at her comrade.

"Who did this to you?" she asked. Nero sighed and leaned back on the bars of the cage.

"The assassins had a demon ally with them. A doomguard, if I recall correctly. Ripped my arm off with ease." he replied solemnly. Nell gaped at him.

"A demon ally? b-but that means they are in league with the Legion!

"Not necessarily. They could just have a powerful warlock on their side."

Before Nell could speak again, a hand reached in from outside the cage, and grabbed her by the neck, pulling her back towards the cage bars. Nero reacted instantly, rushing to pry the hand off Nell's neck as she struggled and tried to scream. Without warning, the cage door swung open and the assassins strode in. They jumped at Nero, easily overpowering the crippled paladin. Nell continued to struggle to break free from her captor's grasp, but she did not possess the strength. She watched helplessly as her assailants dragged Nero out of the cage before slamming the door shut and locking it once more. Nell felt the grip on her mouth falter a bit. She took he chance and bit down hard on her captor's hand. There was a scream of pain behind her and the assassin released his grip, quickly pulling his hand out of the cage. Nell rushed towards the door, the salty taste of blood still lingering on her tongue.

She stood there, powerless, as the assassins dragged him towards the fire. There was a robed figure there now. He too, was a blood elf, but he wore the dark and sinister colors that told Nell that the newcomer was a warlock. A giant, winged demon with hoofed feet stood several paces behind him. Nell stared in abject horror and screamed as the assassins threw Nero into the green flames. A pillar of fire burst into the air followed by horrible screams of unimaginable agony as Nero's skin began to melt from its bones. Nell covered her ears and shut her eyes tight. She couldn't bear to watch Nero die like that. It was just to cruel. After what seemed like an eternity, the night once again fell silent.

Nell knew what was coming. The assassins returned to the cage and opened the door, arms reaching in to drag her out as well. Nell was ready for them this time. She lunged out of the door, aiming for one of the daggers which hung loosely from one of her captor's belt. She almost had it, if not for the quick reaction of one of the assassins. He saw Nell dive for the knife and quickly threw a kick at Nell's gut. The blow felled her. Nell felt too weak from the blow to keep up her resistance. She was dragged over to the fire where the remains of Nero's skeleton was slowly disintegrating into ash. She expected to be thrown into the flames mercilessly, like her fellow knight, but instead, the assassin's brought her before the warlock.

The warlock looked down at her and sneered. He reached down and grabbed Nell by the chin, pulling her towards him for a close inspection.

"Ah, you will make a wonderful host." he said. Nell glared at him with both anger and confusion.

"What are you going to do with me?" she asked.

"We wish to summon a great demon into our realm." the warlock said. "One so powerful and so destructive that it can destroy an entire city with just a wave of a finger and obeying my every command. To put it in simplest of terms, we needed a few...ah..sacrifices and a host body of a holy warrior to be defiled. Those are the requirements to summon this particular demon."

Nell sighed. Most warlocks like this one were just power hungry leeches. They wanted what they do not understand. If what he said is true, he would need at least twenty, no, thirty warlocks or at least a immensely powerful one to control such a demon.

"And what if you can not control it?" Nell asked. It sounded more as if she was stating a fact than answering a question. The warlock spread his arms wide, a mad grin on his face.

"Then it shall rampage through Azeroth, leaving death and destruction in its wake." he said.

"Your mad." Nell said in monotone. The warlock looked down at her once more.

"Ah, come now, lady Brightarch. It surely is not me who is mad, but my employer, who helped fund my little experiment." Nell stared at him, confused.

"How did you know my name?"

"I had a little...ah...talk...with your father. He seemed almost too happy to give me your name." Nell grinded her teeth in anger. Her blood red eyes locked into a murderous glare.

"What did you do to my father?" Nell demanded. Almost shouting.

"I did nothing, little girl. In fact, I should be giving my thanks to your father. After all, he gave me such a wonderful gift." said the warlock as he patted Nell on the head. Nell winced at his touch.

"W-what do you mean?" she said. The warlock gave her a cold smile.

"What I mean, little girl, is that your father gave you to me. He offered your body as the host I require for my summonings." the warlock said. "What a wonderful parent."

"No! Lies! My father would never do such a thing." Nell retorted, snarling.

"Can you not believe it, girl? Isn't the treatment you received by your family proof enough that they hate you? Despise you?" He pointed a bony finger at Nell. "Believe it, girl. Your family has abandoned you. Your father even payed me to do what I wished with you!"

In truth, Nell actually did believe the warlock. She always knew her family resented her. She had expected this to happen sooner or later. Her father was a man who'd rather see his own daughter murdered than see his bloodline soiled. Nell hung her head low and let out a sigh. Well, it was a good 18 years of life.

"Heh, do not worry, little girl. Your father asked me to make sure that you had company when your soul makes its way to oblivion." exclaimed the warlock. At the news, Nell looked up once more.

"What do you mean?" she asked. The warlock gestured towards the flames.

"See for yourself." he said, and began laughing like a madman. Nell peered into the flames. What had the warlock meant? There was nothing in those sickly green flames. All she could see was the skeletal remains of Nero, his plate armor and a book...Wait, a book? Nell blinked. No, it was true. There was a leather bound book in the flames. It did not burn immediately in the flames like ordinary paper should have, instead it layed there, impervious to the flames. It obviously had some magical enchantments on it. Nell took a close inspection. The cover of the book was lined with magical runes. The title of the book said: 'Theres more to magic than Great Balls of Fire, Volume III'. She giggled as she read the title. She looked down to see the name of the author, and her blood froze in her veins. Nell's eyes widened. She tried to scream, but her voice died in her throat. Her knees felt weak and they eventually gave way.

Nell dropped to the ground. Tears were streaming uncontrollably down her cheeks. She tried to hold the tears back, but it only proved to make it worse. Nell could not believe it. It could not be true. The man the book belonged to could not possibly the person that Nell was thinking of. It just couldn't. It took Nell all her willpower to bring her eyes to bear on the book once more. When she gazed at the author's name once more, Nell finally broke down. It was true. Under the title of the book was the author's name which read: "Viridiel Brightarch".

Nell screamed into the night, her voice filled with sadness and malice. The warlock stood over her, a savage smile across his face.

"Do not cry, child. You will see your brother soon." with that, the assassins picked Nell's still sobbing form up and dragged her to the flame. Just before they threw her in, Nell locked eyes with the warlock. Her crimson eyes, highlighted by the green of the flames. If not for the tears still streaming down her face, she would have looked almost demonic. She gave him a cold, hard glare. Filled with anger and hatred.

"I'm gonna kill you." she muttered. The warlock just shrugged and the assassins threw Nell into the flames.

* * *

The flames really did hurt as much as it looked. Nell could feel her skin melt under the intense heat of the flame, all the while screaming her rage. She had only been in the flames for a few moments, but to her, it felt as if an eternity of agony had passed. She continued to scream and struggling about. As she felt her life slowly bleed away, Nell caught a glimpse of Viridiel's book once more. It still lay there, untouched by the flames. Nell made a final attempt to reach for the book, but darkness took her before she could even lift her arm.

Nell could see nothing. Her eyes were open but her surroundings were pitch black. _Thats it, I'm dead._She thought. There was nothing around her but black, empty space. The warlock, assassins and the green flame were all gone. So were the deathly forests of the Plaguelands. Nell let out a great sigh. Perhaps she was dead, although this was not what she expected.

Nell stopped moving completely. Something was in the darkness with her. She did not know how, but she could sense it. She could not see it, but something was in there. Fear began to take her. It was an unfamiliar feeling. Nell had never really been afraid of anything, but the other presence in the darkness was emitting an aura which pulsed with the feeling of dread. Nell dared not move after finally realising that whatever the thing was, it was standing right behind her. Without warning, a sharp pain stabbed through her brain. Nell fell over and cradled her head. It was almost more unbearable than the green flames, but together with the pain came words. The words sent a shock-wave of panic through Nell's soul by just being heard.

_"Face me, mortal."_ it said.

Nell's body moved on it's own. She tried to resist it. She tried with all her might to stay as still as possible, but her body was influenced by the mere words of the thing. The origin of the voice was both the most magnificent, yet most horrifying and unnerving thing Nell had ever seen. The creature had three pairs of great white wings. They were spread out in an asterix shape which gave the figure a menacing beauty. Unfortunately, that was where the beauty ended. What the wings were connected to was not an angel or any god. They were attached to the back of a severely rotten corpse. The creature was mostly a large humanoid skeleton with curved, ram-like horns protruding from it's head. There was still several great, red patches of rotting flesh attached to it's skeletal frame. It had two great fangs on it's upper row of teeth and sickly, glowing red orbs for eyes. Nell felt like a mere ant before the creature.

_"I sense great anger within you, mortal. I sense that you yearn for vengeance. You seek revenge. Am I wrong?"_ the words stabbed her mind. The cold pain washed over her skull once again. The thing had talked directly into her thoughts, it's mouth never moving. Nell was too scared to answer. She tried to, but all she was able to do was stutter.

_"Answer me, mortal." _said the monster once more.

The words were cool and soft, like a parent talking to a child, but with the gentle words came an even greater pain, worse than the previous ones. Nell fell to her knee's, shivering and clawing at her head.

"N-no. I D-do wish for vengeance." she whispered, the pain prevented her from answering properly.

_"Good."_ said the monster. Somehow, Nell knew that it was grinning in approval, although it's body was still and motionless.

_"I sense great fear from you, mortal. Good. I feed on such emotions. Fear, angst, jealousy, anger, anxiety, they are all bread and butter to me." _Nell was getting used to the pain which came whenever the thing spoke. Although her skull throbbed unceasingly. It was time for some answers.

"Are you the so called 'Demon' that the warlock intended to summon?" she asked straightforwardly. It sounded more like a demand than a question. If it was a demon, she could not show it that she feared it. After all, she was trained to fight it's kind. If the creature took any offence, it did not show it.

_"Yes, I am." _it said.

"And you have come to destroy my soul to take full control of my body?" Nell queried.

_"Not exactly."_ replied the demon. Nell was surprised at the new piece of information.

"Then why are you here?" she risked pushing on further. The demon made a noise which sounded like a grunt.

_"Originally, I was to take your body as my host. Of course, I would have slain the warlock. It was a very foolish thing the weakling did, summoning the likes of me. After he was dead, I would have rampaged around your world until I am called back to my own world. Well, that was the intended plan after all." _Nell too a step back as the demon's skull finally moved, bright red orbs staring down at the cowering elf. _"But then, I caught a glimpse of your soul. You intrigued me, mortal. One moment you were like any other, but the next, you were filled with so much resentment, so much anger, much more than even I can fathom. So I have come to you with a simple...proposal."_

Nell did not like the idea of making a deal with a demon. It went against all the rules and laws she had been taught, but something urged her to go on.

"What kind of proposal?" she asked. Nell could feel that the demon was pleased.

_"I will still use your body as a host, but you will have full control over it. I will give you immense power, power that is able to rival the Burning Legion itself. Certainly more than enough to carry out your revenge."_

Nell liked the sound of it. She opened her mouth to agree, but immediately shut it. The demon had not mentioned a downside. It obviously would want something in return. She feared to ask it, but she did anyway.

"Whats the catch?" she said solemnly, almost regretting it instantly. Almost.

_"Ah, of course. In return, I want your happiness, your joy. I want all your emotions that wil__l make you happy. On top of that, you must never stop fighting. If you run out of enemies, you must travel to another battlefield and seek more. By doing these simple tasks, you will accumulate more and more negative emotions. Probably enough to keep me fed for all eternity."_

The elf shivered at that. Indeed, it was a very heavy price to pay. Nell was scared at the thought of losing her happiness forever. But the urge of revenge was incredibly strong. For the sake of vengeance, all those demands seemed like a rather small price to pay. She still had one more question to ask the demon though.

"If I take your offer, I will never be the same ever again...will I?" she asked nervously.

_"No, you will not. You will be born anew into the world for the sole purpose of battle and blood lust. You will care for nothing." _

"Good." Nell said. She had nothing to lose. "I accept your offer, demon." The minute the words left her lips, the flesh began to grow on the demon's skeletal form. Nell was repulsed by the action.

_"Very good, mortal. I am very pleased with you, but to wield a power so great as mine...you must know my name."_ said the demon, it's voice getting softer, smoother, gentler and somewhat familiar and feminine. It's skin continued to regrow and eventually, what stood before Nell was nothing like the horrid creature that stood before her when she first arrived.

_"My name, mortal, is Karat H'reth"_ said the female, red-haired, crimson-eyes elf which now stood before Nell in the same exact voice.

* * *

Nellera Brightarch's eyes snapped wide open. The first thing she saw was nothing. Her surroundings were almost pitch black. Her vision was blurry and the back of her head hurt like hell. It took a while for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. The first thing she noticed was that she was lying on the ground, outside a cage. The sun was rising and the orange mist of the Plaguelands began clouding the area. Nell picked herself up, only to notice that she was drenched in blood. She quickly glanced around the surrounding area. The remaining assassins which had captured her the other night were lying dead all around the camp. Actually, what was left of them were lying around the camp.

Every corpse in the camp was horribly mutilated and distorted. Some of the assassins lacked arms. Some had no eyes. Others had no legs, torso, eyes , and some did not even had anything mentioned above. What really caught Nell's eye was the huge corpse of the doomguard she had saw the other night. It was lying in a burned crisp in the spot where the green ritual fire was. A huge tree was impaled in it's chest. On top of the tree, Nell spied the crucified form of the blood elf warlock who was sent to kill her. The look on his dead face told Nell that he had died very painfully.

Nell would have screamed in shock and horror at the sight that lay before her, but that was what the old Nell would have done. The new Nell stood there in stunned silence for several long moments. She began to giggle. Her giggle slowly became manic laughter. She was laughing loudly and psychotically which made even the fearless undead in the surrounding area to avoid her. Nellera Brightarch's psychotic mirth echoed throughout the entire Plaguelands. She continued to laugh like that for several days, even scaring away the elite Forsaken patrol, led by Varimathras himself which was sent to find her missing party.

* * *

Present day...

The trio gathered their belongings and thanked Mortega Firemane before continuing on their long trek back to Ratchet. The group still travelled in silence, with Nell still at the front and Karkon, quite a distance behind her. Although now, Thorka shared the orc's uncomfort. They both still refused to talk to her, but Karkon now understood why Nell was the way she was today. It was the first time ever than Nell had been so open with him. His feelings were now conflicted. He pitied the elf for losing her emotions, but he also felt a great disgust, for she had consorted with demons. But still, he had a great respect for her. Even though she had lost all her positive emotions, she still saved his life. No matter what the demon had done, all the things she learned, all her good nature before her unfortunate incident was hiding somewhere deep down in her soul, encased in a thick shell. Karkon hoped to one day break that shell. He realized that it felt good to see the elf make an honest smile for once. The orc looked up at the clear blue sky as he walked. He figured that everything would work out in the end.

To be continued...

* * *

JJ: OK, we are done with flashbacks here. I can finally get on with the main story again. I had this great idea stuck in my head for so long.

Xante: (Whispers) Hope its me...

JJ: What was that?

Xante: nothing...

JJ: Good, I was getting tired of your whining.

Xante: sigh...Look forward to part 9 folks...and pray that I get a spot...

JJ: Oi!


	9. The Warchief's Court

JJ: Finally, we are back in the main story. Holidays are coming up, and hopefully, that means I can spend more time writing.

Nell: I don't even see the point of these starting comments...

JJ: Its fun to write them...**Disclaimer** please.

Nell: World of Warcraft does not belong to JJfats.

* * *

Chapter 9

The trip back to Ratchet was easier than the group expected. The dust storms of the Needles had died down and the air in the Barrens was nice and cool. With such great weather, the trio were able to reach the Crossroads in a mere five days. They had rested, resupplied and repaired their gear there. After a good nights rest, they sent messengers to Orgrimmar to inform the Warchief of their discovery. The trio now sat at a food stall near the inn, minding their own business.

Karkon was sitting there quietly, a huge mug of rich, foaming dwarven ale in one hand and his axe in the other. His eyes were locked on the troll bartender. More than once now Karkon had caught the bartender staring wide-eyed at the monstrous size of the orc's coin pouch. Thorka was once again attracted to the strange mechanical items of the local engineer, locked in a heated conversation. Karkon never understood the strange magics known as 'Engineering'. He knew it could do great wonders like the dwarven steam tanks or make bombs which were able to blind an enemy, but most of the time that he had seen engineering at work, it always seemed to backfire.

To Karkon's right, sat Nellera. She was quiet as usual. Patiently scrubbing the muck off of her dwarven steel short blade. Her warhammer and long sword were stacked neatly behind her with her armor. Thats when the orc notice that she wasn't in her armor. A really rare occasion indeed. The blood elf and her glistening purple-magenta plates were almost inseparable. Nell only ever took it of when she needed it repaired, which it already has been, or if she needed a bath.

Nell had always looked attractive. Her porcelain skin and fiery red hair would make even the most stalwart man's head turn. Her armor did little to hide her perfect figure and without it, the effect was doubled. Karkon wondered why no blood elf male never approached her. Was it because of an eight foot orc who constantly shadowed her? Not possible, he thought. Blood elf males were too proud to be afraid of orcs. Was it the fact that she looked menacing with all her weapons and armor and her constant cold glare? Also not possible. Even in full battle gear, she was a beauty.

The answer came crawling into the orc's mind. It was her eyes. Her piercing stare stacked with those blood red eyes were both intimidating and frightening. Even the orc got the chills from making eye contact with her for more than a few seconds. Perhaps it was easier to look upon her before the demon took control of her soul. Kakon would never know. The elf notice the orc glancing at her and stopped midway in her task.

"What?" she asked, although it sounded more like a 'leave me alone'. The orc immediately got the picture.

"Nothing." he said quickly as he turned back towards his drink. He had to somehow come up with a plan to get the elf to accompany him on his quest. He shook the idea from his mind. Stopping Arthas' plan was the top priority at the moment. His grand plan could wait a few more weeks. Years even. With his goals set straight, the orc downed his drink in one great gulp and left the stall.

* * *

The next morning, Karkon waited at the eastern exit of the Crossroads, ready to go. He was soon joined by Thorka, who was now chucking a great leather bag filled with bombs and explosives. The tauren seemed to really like those kind of things. Nell was still absent though. Karkon just hoped that those things didn't explode when he was stnding next to the tauren. After half an hour or so, the elf arrived, once again in her repaired plate. Her scarlet hair was wet and sparkled in the sunlight. Karkon sighed. Even though she was bloodthirsty, she was still a woman who took pleasure in her baths. With everything set, the group set off east bound towards the neutral port city of Ratchet.

It didn't take very long to reach the city. The weather was perfect once again and no wildlife had obstructed their route. It was almost as if their luck had turned upside down ever since Nell had told the orc about her past. When they arrived at the gates of Ratchet, they were stopped by the bouncers there who called the town mayor. Nell handed him the necromancer's head, half of it decomposing, the other half already stripped of flesh due to his own spell. As promised, the group was re-welcomed into Ratchet.

As the trio were making their way towards the inn, something caught their eye. There was a huge horde crowd gathered at the center of town. What few alliance members carefully avoided the huge mob. As the trio got closer, they noticed that the crowd's attention was focused on a little cage. Sparks of blur light emnated violently from the cage from time to time, followed by squeaky, frustrated screams. Everytime this happend, the crowd laughed. Karkon and Thorak had no interest in finding out what was the source of amusement, so they carried on. Nell on the other hand stopped and stared at the backs of the horde crowd, furrowing her brow.

"What?" asked Karkon, as he noticed that the elf had stopped.

"I...I recognize that voice." she replied, her eyes never leaving the backs of the crowd. Before the orc could say anything else, the elf charged into the crowd and squeezed her way through. The orcs, trolls, taurens and forsaken quickly backed away from the armored girl. Karkon and Thorka followed closely behind her.

The orc could see the contents of the cage now. It was a little gnome. A mage from the looks of it. He had aqua blue hair which was pointed skywards and a beard and curved moustache of similar color. His robes were blue-gray with red outlines and golden threaded glyphs on it. The flashes of blue light were the results of the gnome repeatedly casting a frost spell at the cage in an attempt to open it. The cage, obviously enchanted, did not budge. Every now and then, the gnome would sit down to catch his breath, while conjuring some water.

Karkon caught a look at Nell's face. Her eyes widened in recognition. Her mouth was half open and stuttering, as if she was trying to say something, but the words refused to come out. After awhile, she finally found her voice.

"Millhouse?! Millhouse Manastorm!?" she exclaimed in common, the note of surprise evident in her voice. Karkon, Thorka and the crowd, of course, had no idea what she was saying. At the mention of the name, the gnome looked up. His eyes too, grew big in surprise. He sprang to his feet.

"Brightarch girl! What a pleasant surprise!" he said in a happy voice, just before he shouted: "Now, get me outta here!!"

Nell winced as he shouted. Karkon was in shock. Was Nell actually afraid of this little gnome? Just as the thoughts came, the gnome spoke up again.

"What? Who called me little!? I know one of you did! Once I get outta this cage, I'll find you!" he yelled. Karkon pushed his thoughts aside.

"Come on, girl! Get me out of this cage!" shrieked the gnome in his high-pitched tone.

"Oh, right!" she said. The elf turned towards the bruiser captain. The conversation began lightly, but soon turned into a heated argument. Karkon was about to step in but Nell then dropped 10 gold coins into the palm of the bruiser and he let the mage go. As the mage stepped out of the cage, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. As he exhaled, his eyes snapped open and he yelled out something. The next second, everyone around them turned into farm animals. Only the gnome, Karkon, Thorka and Nell were the only humanoids standing at the town square.

"Hah! That'll teach ya not to mess with the almighty Millhouse Manastorm!" he exclaimed and started dancing. Nell shook her head and dragged him to the inn.

Once there, she bought a round of drinks for everyone. When the mage had finished his ale, Nell immediately began with the questions.

"Millhouse! What are you doing here? What were you doing in a cage?" she asked. The gnome cleared his throat.

"Well, after you got me out of that accursed prison cell, I opened up a portal to Ironforge. I hoped right into it, expecting to be sent home, but I guess the interference in the Netherstorm had messed up the portal somewhat. The next thing I knew, I was lying on top of an unconscious troll. The stupid bruisers arrested me and I have been in that darn cage for a week now!" as he finished, a barmaid put down a second mug of beer in front of him, which a greedily picked up. Before he could begin drinking, he caught Nell's confused and surprised stare.

"What?" he said. Nell stuttered. She was at a lost for words. The gnome spoke up again.

"I have a question, girl. How did you get back from the Outlands so fast? I thought you told me that you were going to be there for a year or so. And knowing you, your not the type who enjoys the use of portals." Nell blinked. She finally managed to find her voice again.

"Errr...Millhouse...the last time I saw you was...err...four years ago." she said. Her eyes never changing from her surprised look.

"Hmm...I guess that the interference on the Netherstorm was worse tan I thought...Oh well." he shrugged it off easily and continued drinking. Nell shook her head.

"That's why I hate portals." she muttered. Nell looked up. Only then did she notice that Karkon and Thorka were both staring at her and the gnome in shock. Obviously, they had not understood a word of her conversation. They had not even taken a sip from their drinks. Nell sighed before changing her speech to orcish.

"Sorry about that. This is Millhouse Manastorm. He is an old friend of mine. Rescued him from a prison ship in the Outlands four years ago. I haven't seen him till today." she lowered a voice into a whisper. "He has some, err, anger issues. You wouldn't want to piss him off."

Karkon blinked at that. Nell was using the word 'anger issues'. If the gnome was someone that even Nell thought was short tempered, he must really have a short fuse. The orc made a mental note to not cross the mage. Finally, Karkon took a sip from his mug. Thorka on the other hand had gone into his 'friends' mode.

"Well...are you going to introduce us?" he asked the elf.

"Huh? What? Oh yes, um." she spat out some gibberish as she tried to switch languages. "Millhouse, these are-" before the elf could finish, the gnome cut in.

"I know who they are. A pleasure to meet you warrior Karkon and druid Thorka. Any friend of young Brightarch here is a friend of mine." he said in perfectly accented orcish. The trio gaped at the mage for several long seconds.

"You speak orcish?!" they said in unison. Then Thorka and Karkon turned to Nell.

"You didn't know that he spoke orcish?!" they said, again in unison. Millhouse had a look of surprise on his own face.

"I spoke orcish?!" he exclaimed in orcish. They all stared at him again. "I hate Netherstorm." muttered the gnome. Karkon cleared his throat.

"I say that this conversation should come to an end before we all go mad." the orc proposed.

"Aye." came the voices of the rest of the group who picked up their mugs and drained them in a single gulp. The group sat there for the rest of the night, drinking round after round of alcohol in dumbfounded silence.

* * *

The next morning, the group wished that they were dead. They were standing in the middle of Ratchets town square, waiting for a Nell's contact. Well, sort of standing. None of them were able to stand up right. They were all suffering fom severe hang overs. Millhouse was groaning, Thorka looked like he was going to throw up, Karkon was swivelling on his feet, struggling to stay balanced. Even Nell, who had the most tolerance for alcohol, was leaning on her hammer for support. Her hang over face looked even more scarier than when she was mad. Even so, the occupants of the town avoided them.

After several long hours (and painful headaches), a shadowy, cloaked figure approached the group. It was tall, almost as tall as Karkon, but much leaner. It was most likely a troll. All he did was walk up to the grumpy faced Nell and handed her a letter. It had the Warchief's seal on it. Nell opened the letter and read it out loud. Apparently, the Warchief wanted to discuss the matter with the group himself and therefore has invited them to attend to him in his throne room. Without another word, the group set off for Orgrimmar.

"Why did we have to walk all the way to Orgrimmar again?" asked Thorka, for what seemed like the fifth time that morning. Nell gave an annoyed grunt, obviously not wanting to answer the tauren again. Karkon let out a sigh.

"We have a gnome with us. The flight master won't take him to Orgrimmar. Its going to be hard enough getting him through the front gates." the orc explained.

"Well if the guards charge me, I'll just turn them all into nice big Popsicles!" Millhouse said.

"No, Millhouse. No popsicles." replied Nell sternly.

"Awww. Your no fun." the gnome muttered.

As the group finally reached the Orgrimmar gates, they were greeted with expected hostility.

"Halt!" yelled one of the guards. The group stopped. "Can you explain why you have, that, with you." he gestured towards Millhouse. Millhouse just growled.

"Stay your hand, guard. He is with us. Warchief Thrall has seeked an audience with us." Nell said. The guard sneered.

"The Warchief does not see those of the alliance." the guard retorted. He made a hand signal. The next moment, the top of the watch towers and main gate were filled with archers, all aiming their arrows at the group. Everyone went into a defensive stance, everyone except Nell, who gave an unimpressed smile.

"Try us." she mocked. The guard's eyes started to fill with rage.

"Kill them!" he ordered.

"Belay that, captain." came a booming voice. The orc guard captain turned around and immediately bowed in respect.

"Greetings, Nazgrel. Why do you stop me from eliminating the enemies of the Horde?" the guard asked.

"They are not enemies. The Warchief seeks an audience with them. You will escort them to Thrall's throne room." said Nazgrel. The guard growled, but nodded. Nazgrel's attention shifted to the Millhouse.

"What of the gnome?" he asked in monotone.

"He is with us." Nell replied in a similar manner. The orc sighed.

"Fine, he comes with us." he said before leading them on.

* * *

The walk to Grommash Hold was in no way a pleasant one. Of course, had it been only Nell, Karkon and Thorka, everything would be fine, but they had Millhouse with them. Just that one extra person caused the entire city to keep wary eyes on the group. Nell, being the reserved type, was not enjoying the attention and did not hesitate to show her discomfort by snarling and bearing her fangs at anyone who looked their way. That was usually enough to cause the onlookers to back away, intimidated.

The group managed to reach Grommash Hold without incident. Nazgrel escorted them through the ante-chamber, full of shamans, and into the throne room. The throne room was huge. Standing braziers and torches lined the granite walls, casting an eerie orange glow. The Kor'Kron Elite, Thrall's personal bodyguards stood absolutely still in every corner of the room, ready to act at the slightest hint of danger. In the middle of the room was table with the map of Azeroth on it. Behind that table stood Thrall himself, the Warchief of the Horde. He was a magnificent sight to behold. Clad in the black and brass plate armor of the legendary Orgrim Doomhammer. There were other notable people in the room that brought surprise to the entire group, including Nell.

Standing to Thrall's left was a Cairne Bloodhoof, leader of the Bloodhoof tauren. He looked old, wrinkles riddling his face, but the group did not doubt that he still had alot of fight left within him. He wore a leather jerkin with similar breeches and carried a giant totem, obviously used for clubbing. Thrall's trusted scout and adviser, Vol'jin, the shadow hunter and current leader of the Darkspear trolls was squatting beside Cairne. To Thrall's right, stood the dark, imposing figure of Sylvanas Windrunner, dark lady of the Forsaken. She emitted the same chilling aura that Nell always did. The final person in the room made Nell flinch at the sight of her. It was a female blood elf. She wore ornate grey-white plate armor, similar to Nellera's own. Her armor was outlined with blue lines which glowed a faint blue. She had a shield almost as big as herself strapped to her back and a giant longsword sheathed at her waist. Her auburn hair was tied back in a long pony tail. She looked like she was in her thirties, but one could never really tell with elfs. Judging from Nell's expression, Karkon concluded that this blood elf was the one and only, Lady Liadrin, Nell's mentor.

As the group entered the room, the heads of all the leaders of the Horde looked up from the map table. Nazgrel quickly went down on one knee, beckoning the rest to do the same. Everyone followed suite except Millhouse, who stood there dumbfounded. The leaders stared at him in surprise. Sylvanas snarled and made a move for her sword but Thrall grunted and shook his head. The dark lady unhappily released her grip on her blade. Thrall regarded the group.

"Thank you for coming. I'm assuming that the gnome is your companion, is he not?" he said.

"Yes, he is." Nell replied respectfully. Thrall nodded.

"Then he is welcome here. Just make sure that he does not make any sudden moves. Everyone is a little jumpy after hearing the news you brought to us."

"Yes, milord." Nell turned towards Liadrin and bowed. "It is a pleasure to see you again milady."

"And I, you, knight Brightarch." she replied with a smile. Sylvanas sneered and looked away.

"As much as I hate to interrupt the reunion, but we must focus at the task at hand." interrupted Thrall. The leaders nodded and focused their attention back towards the map.

"I have sent my fastest riders to intercept the necromancers in Kalimdor and Sylvanas has sent her own to hunt down the ones in the Eastern Kingdoms." said the Warchief. He turned towards Nell.

"I am sorry, paladin, but I am going to have to send you on an undesirable mission once more. I regret not giving you enough time to recover from your previous excursion." he said solemnly.

"I will do the best I can." replied Nell as Karkon eyed her with a look of surprise.

"Your contact was Warchief Thrall?!" he burted out and immediately shut his mouth as everyone turned to look at him. Nell just cocked an eye brow.

"You mean you didn't know?" she said with an amused grin. Thrall let out a deep chuckle.

"You should be more open with your companions, paladin. They've all you got for this mission." he said. "She will explain the details." the Warchief gestured to another figure in the cornered. To Nell, Karkon, Thorka and even Millhouse's surprise, the figure was a human female. She wore the elegant robes of an archmage. She had a cowl which did little to hide her beautiful face and long, flowing golden hair. She carried a long staff in one hand, a giant, green pulsing crystal sat at the end of it. She stepped forward and bowed.

"This, is Jaina Proudmoore. For all I know, the strongest spell-caster in the world and leader of the humans of Theramore port." introduced Thrall.

"A pleasure to meet you all." she said in a soft voice. Giving the group a smile. Karkon and Thorka jumped.

"We understood what she said!" exclaimed Thorka. "But she spoke common!" Prudmoore let out a giggle.

"A little spell translation I devised. Nothing special." she said.

"So, what needs doing?" Nell queried. Not wanting to waste time.

"Yes, I'll get straight to the point. My spies have informed me about some rumours. Rumours that state that the betrayer, Illidan Stormrage, wishes to journey to this world and confront the Lich King, intending to end his tyranny once and for all." Jaina explained.

"So? Isn't that a good thing. They will just wipe themselves out." Nell said, once again in monotone. The wizard shook her head.

"Before, when Arthas was still an ordinary death knight, it would not have been a problem. But now that he has obtained the power of the Lich King, the results of him battling with Stormrage would be catastrophic! The world would be torn asunder once more." she explained. Nell furrowed her brow.

"But it is only a rumour, is it not?"

"Yes, it is. Therefore we need you to confirm its validity." said Thrall. Jaina nodded.

"There will be a party in Stormwind, exactly one week from now. It is hosted by a high elf mage by the name of Sunbane. My spies have confirmed tat he is a subordinate of Illidan Stormrage. You are to infiltrate that party and interrogate him." explained Jaina.

"And how do you all expect US, to sneak into STORMWIND, one of the most fortified and well defended ALLIANCE capital?" Nell asked, emphasizing some words with a note of sarcasm in her voice.

"I have sent a few of my own covert operatives to the outskirts of Stormwind. They await your arrival and they have assured me that they have a plan." offered Liadrin.

"My most trusted advisor is with them as well." said Sylvanas proudly.

"Just great." Nell groaned.

"If all is well, you will have to leave first thing in the morning." said Thrall.

"Yes sir." replied the elf, solemnly. With that, the group left to get as much rest as possible.

* * *

When morning came, Thrall and Vol'jin, along with another troll came and to personally escort the group to the flightmaster. The newcomer, a troll, was dresed in mail armor from neck to toe. They were the color of brimstone and his pauldrons ended in wicked spikes. He had pointed, flame dyed hair and tusks which curved upwards and a long pipe hung from his mouth, black smoke slowly rising from it. Strapped to his back was the most humongous and menacing looking long rifle any of them had ever seen. Its barrel looked like it was fashioned from a dragon skull.

"This be ma best pathfinder, Sey'rans. His skills of trackin be second to none. He be acompanin ya through to da Stormwind. His skill would be needed if ye want ta gt out alive." exclaimed Vol'jin proudly, smacking the pathfinder on the back. The pathfinder just grunted and bowed, never uttering a word.

With everything ready and a new companion, the group got on a wyvern and left for Ratchet, where they would catch a ship to Booty Bay and make their way north, towards Elwyn Forest. Millhouse looked silly on a wyvern and more than once, almost looked like he would fall off as he bounced on the top of the animal. Finally, only Karkon was left. Before he took of on his own wyvern, a gauntleted hand landed on his shoulder. He turned around to come face-to-face with the Warchief.

"Do me a favour ,my friend." said Thrall. "Keep an eye on the girl. She is much more than she seems. If things go out of hand, only you can do something to stop it."

Karkon smiled and urged his wyvern forward.

"Keep an eye on her?" he said, a hint of irony in his voice. "I always do."

He flew off toward the rising sun.

To be continued...


	10. We Need a Plan

JJ: Chapter 10. I really apologize for the long delay. The holidays came and I got lazy. No further comments for today. Deal with it. Haha. World of Warcraft does not belong to me. Neither does Thorka, Karkon and a whole bunch of other characters. Just Nell and Sey'rans does.

* * *

Chapter 10

The journey to Stormwind was lengthy and in no way a pleasant one. But then again, most of the group's trips were never easy in the first place. The group had to take a boat from Ratchet all the way to Booty Bay, considering the fact that an all out war will break out if Millhouse stepped a foot a zepplin in Grom'gol. Because of this, they had to take the long route. Dock in Booty Bay, follow the trail north past the Gurubashi Arena, up through Duskwood and finally reaching the Alliance territory of Elwyn Forest. There were some...unfortunate events on their way there.

When the group first arrived at Booty Bay, Sey'rans was kicked out of town for being in 'Too close proximity to a gnome with cannibalistic intent'. The troll really didn't mind though. He said he was much more comfortable in the wilds and would wait for the group at the exit. Later, the goblins threw Millhouse out for giving a goblin engineer some criticism about his teleporter invention. Thorka, too was thrown out of town for fishing in a 'no fishing' zone. Surprisingly, Nellera was too, kicked out for beating up a cheeky night elf who told her that she had a nice arse and assuming that she couldn't understand common. Karkon was the only one who was left unscathed. Not wanting to keep the others waiting, he too, left shortly after Nell did.

It took three days on mounts for them to reach the borders of Duskwood, where they had to carefully sneak by an alliance camp. An additional two days to get up to the river which signified the border of Elwyn forest, and several agonising hours of trekking to the meeting point along with Nell's everlasting complaints of hating to swim in full armor. Finally, the group made camp on a hill at sunset of the sixth day of their journey. Stormwind city was just visible over the treelines of the forest. It was an impressive sight. Human craftsmanship at its best. Although, it did pale in comparison to the dwarven built Ironforge.

Karkon stared wearily at the neat camp fire that Thorka had set up. He did not expect that from the druid. In truth, the orc knew very little about the druid. Apart from he can do almost anything. Cook, fish, first aid, you name it. He looked around the camp. Everybody was doing their usual thing. Nell was using her pack as a cushion and was lying in a corner, fast asleep with her back to the group and the fire. Thorka was flipping through a catalog of engineering gizmos. The gnome, Millhouse, was sitting in a corner, summoning and unsummoning an elemental, obviously bored. The troll was... Karkon blinked and looked around once more. No, he wasn't seeing things. The troll was gone. He was sure that he saw the pathfinder here a minute ago. Where had he gone.

"If your looking for the pathfinder, he is up there." Nell said suddenly, still lying down with her back towards the group.

She lifted one of her arms and gestured into the trees. Karkon's gaze followed her hand and he found the troll sitting on o branch on one of the tallest tree in the area. The orc really wasn't surprised of that. What he really wanted to know was how did the elf know what he was thinking about. He shivered. For a moment, he thought the elf was psychic, but his theory was immediately replaced by another. The orc was simply predictable to Nell. She was a kind of person who takes everything in to detail. After a year of travel with the orc, she could obviously know what he would be thinking, even if she wasn't looking at him.

Before the orc could say anything in return, the rustling of leaves made him and Thorka jump for their weapons. Nell, the gnome and Sey'rans were unnerved. Karkon was about to yell at them to take up arms when the first of the figures emerged from the forests, bearing a white flag.

"Hold, friend. We mean you no harm." said the lead figure, his voice muffled by a thick scarf covering his mouth. He was a blood elf. He had the same pointy long ears and glowing green eyes all blood elfs had. He had combed back blond hair with black dyed black streaks. He wore a black leather garb, obviously made from the hide of a sturdy animal. Two wicked long daggers hung from his belt. Behind him, came four more figures. Two more blood elfs, one male and one female, similarly dressed and armed.

The final two figures attracted Karkon's attention. They were both undead. One was male and wore ornate plate armor. His armor was chipped and worn out, but was still an awesome sight. He had a spiked mohawk and straps were wrapped around his eyes. A short hammer and a n axe hung from his belt. The other was female. Although her skin was almost as white as milk, she really did not look dead. It was as if she had tried everything she could to preserve her once living body. She had chilling blue eyes and silky silver hair, almost waist length. She held a grimoire with sickly glowing runes in one hand and a dagger hung from its scabbard on her belt.

Thorka and Karkon slowly lowered their weapons, although they were still wary of the new arrivals.

"Are you the spies that were sent to greet us?" the orc asked.

"Yes. We are." replied the lead elf. "I am Xante Shrikeblade, master spy and assassin." he gestured to the other elfs. "And these are my accomplices. Lyle Bloodmoon and Kaira Dawnshadow." Karkon nodded and turned towards the two forsaken.

"And you two?" the undead warrior stepped forward and bowed.

"A pleasure to meet you, sir. I am known only as Vizshor, having long forgotten my real name. This is Myu. She is a skilled warlock and is one of the dark lady's most trusted adviser." The undead girl gave a low bow, but did not say a word. With his curiosity satisfied, the orc grunted and nodded.

"I am Karkon. The tauren is Thorka, the elf is Nellera, the gnome is Millhouse and the troll is Sey'rans." he introduced blandly. Xante smiled.

"A pleasure to meet you, kind sirs and madam. Although I am a tad bit surprised to find a gnome with you." he said, cocking an eyebrow at Millhouse's direction. The mage ignored him. Sey'rans dropped down from his perch and Nell finally picked herself up from her resting place.

"I've heard that you have a way of getting us into town." said Nell blandly.

"Indeed we do, milady." replied the rogue. "But I'll allow my friend here to explain the details." he gestured towards the female undead, Myu. She stepped forward and cleared her throat.

"Yes, I have a contact within the walls of Stormwind. By nightfall tomorrow, I will lead you all through a secret underground passageway which will lead straight up into the cellars of the mage guild. Entry into the cellars are forbidden by the guild, but my contact is one of the higher ranking spell-casters within the city. She will be allowed through to open the door for us." she said. Although it did not show on his face, Karkon was truly surprised at this forsaken. Not only did she preserve her beauty from her previous life, but she spoke like a living human too. The guttural slur that all forsaken had was absent in her voice.

"You say that your contact is a high ranking mage. From my knowledge, the only mage who wished to help the Horde is lady Proudmoore. How in the world did you manage to convice this particular sorceress to help us?" asked Thorka. Karkon wondered about this too. What the druid said was true, the only name which came to mind was Jaina Proumoore. He turned and saw that Millhouse wanted to know too. Nell and the pathfinder showed no interest.

The warlock's cheeks darkened, obviously in embarrassment. She tried to speak, but the words did not come out. She quickly glanced back at her undead companion for help. He simply nodded his head. Sighing, the warlock told them.

"I...er...when I first awoke in this form, I could remember nothing. I could not remember my name, my past or even how I died." she paused for a moment, but began again a second later. "But I did remember one thing. I remembered having a sister who lived withing Stormwind. I seeked her out."

"And this sister of yours is the mage who intends to help us?" asked Karkon.

"Bingo." replied Myu.

"Well that explains a lot." said Thorka blankly. Nell just groaned and returned to her sleep.

"I believe we should follow the paladin's example. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." suggested Xante. Everyone agreed and soon the camp fire was put out and the night was silent.

* * *

The whole of the next day was taken up with strategy discussions. Apparently, the spies had been so full of themselves about their plan to sneak the Horde party in that they neglected to find a way to get them into the party. Thus, the strategy discussion. They eventually gave up by sun set, when it was time to move, saying that they would think of something on the way.

The warlock led the group westwards and further away from the main entrance. After about an hour or so, they arrived at a place called Mirror Lake Orchard. The place was completely empty. Xante later explained that the orchard used to have a Defias problem which have been solved by him and his rogues personally. They came to a stop at one of the huge trees near the orchard. Myu fiddled around at the trunk until she managed to grab hold of a little notch. She pulled on it and a part of the tree trunk swung open, revealing a ladder which led deep beneath the ground.

There was only a narrow path at the bottom of the ladder, leading northwards and only a few torches lit the way. The tunnel was small. It was big enough to fit the huge bulk of Karkon, but not big enough to have two people standing next to each other. The group carried on for several cramped hours until they finally reached a somewhat more spacious antechamber. There was a door at the other end of the room. Myu proceeded to open it, but when she turned the knob, she found it locked.

"Hmmm. Thats strange. She should have unlocked the door by now.' she mumbled, mostly to herself.

"Maybe she was caught." offered Thorka. Myu shook her head.

"My sister is too crafty to be-" before she could finish, the door knob began to turn and the door swung open. The party quickly raised their weapons, preparing for the worst. A female human strode out of the door. She wore silver robes with red linings. She looked like she was in her twenties with purple-blond hair tied int a short ponytail and the same ice blue eyes as Myu. The human faced the warlock and smirked.

"You are late." she said in a cool tone. Myu returned the sinister smile.

"Better late than never, Anne." she replied. The human mage looked at the faces assembled before her and nodded.

"Quickly! We must leave this place. The archmages plan to hold one of their meetings here." she snapped.

The mage led the group through the dark and damp basement. They climbed up several flights of spiral steps, occasionally stopping as the lighted lamps of patrols were seen passing by. After several tense minutes of sneaking around, the party managed to sneak out of the mage guild building and into a dark alley. The streets were empty and silent, apart from the occasional guard patrols. Once again, the group was forced to rely on stealth, not something the bulky form of Thorka could do easily. After what seemed like an eternity of sneaking, Anne finally led the group into the safety of a huge cottage in a shady corner of the Old Town district. Anne sighed in relief as she closed the door behind them.

"Still living in this pathetic excuse for a home? You never change do you." said Myu said sarcastically.

"Where I live is none of your business, sister." the mage retorted playfully.

"Forgive me for intruding on your reunion, but could you please explain to us the details of the party and our target, milady?" cut in Xante.

Ever since they had entered the city, the rogue had looked really uncomfortable. _He should be_. Thought Karkon. They were a group of Horde in the middle of an Alliance capital! If not for Thrall's orders, this would be madness. Actually, it seemed like madness even with Thrall's orders.

"Ah, yes. Forgive me." said Anne, giving a low bow."I will get straight to the point. The party will be held tomorrow night. I, myself , have been invited. I will isolate myself midway through the party and point out who your target is. I'm sure that you all have a plan on infiltrating the keep?"

The entire Horde party, except Millhouse, looked away in embarressment. Anne cocked an eyebrow

"You do have a plan. Do you not?" she queried. Xante cleared his throat.

"Well, errr...w-well milady, I'm sure we can think of something, come tomorrow night." he said, trying to feign a weak smile, but failed horribly. Anne groaned her displeasure.

"Fine," she said. "Everyone should get some rest for tonight. It might help you all think better in the morning."

With that, she left the room, leaving the Horde party in silence...until Thorka said: "Wait, where do we sleep?"

* * *

The next day of planning also proved to be fruitless. The party was to start in an hour, but the party had yet to come up with a plan. Xante sat in a fetal position in one corner of the room, slowly losing his pride as a leader. His two subordinates were kneeling around him, trying to cheer him up. Karkon, Thorka, Millhouse and Nell were sitting at a round table in silence. They all had a serious look on their face. All of a sudden, Thorka spoke up.

"Maybe we could-" he said. Everyone turned to look at him, eyes glittering with hope. "N-no, that wouldn't work."

Everyone sighed and went back into deep thought. Millhouse grunted.

"Don't speak up unless you have an idea that actually works lad." the mage said. Thork lowered his head sadly. Karkon didn't understand why Thorka didn't just get up and squash th gnome. The tauren was almost five times the mage's size! Nell let out an annoyed moan and buried her face in her arms on the table, feigning sleep. Anne, Vizshor and Myu chose that time to enter the room.

"Haven't figured out a plan yet?" she asked. Everyone just groaned. "I can not believe how lax your planning of this operation is."

"Not helping." Nell said, her voice muffled by her arms. Though she did lift her head up a little so that her sleepy, red eyes were barely visible.

"Unlike you, we were trying our hardest while you had your little reunion tea party." mumbled Millhouse. He said it out loud and if Anne was insulted, she didn't show it. The female mage shrugged.

"Well, if you plan on succeding on this mission, you have got exactly fifty five minutes to come up with a plan." she said.

"No need for dat." came a low, cool voice. The group turned towards the source. "I got a plan." said Sey'rans, closing the front door behind him. Anne's eyes widened in horror.

"You went ouside?!" she yelled. the troll shrugged.

"I wasn't followed, and I made sure that no one be seein me. Those who did though, hehe, lets just say, they wont be talkin for awhile." he said, a self satisfied grin played across his blue face.

Nell lifted her head up.

"So, whats the plan?" she asked. The troll held up one finger with one hand as he used the other to fumble through his pack. He pulled out a beautifully decorated letter with the seal of their target, Lord Sunbane.

"This, be an invitation to the party." said the troll. Everyone stared at him in shock with mouths hanging open.

"How did you get that?! Where did you get that?!" yelled Xante, his face in a wide smile. His self esteem seemed to be restored. The pathfinder looked at him and smiled.

"A wee, lil birdee gave it to me." said the troll. Xante scowled.

"Come now, friend. Be serious. This is no time for jokes." exclaimed the rogue. The troll's expression soured.

"Seriously, mon. Messenger pidgeon." he said before pulling out a dead bird from his sack. There was a cylindrical pack strapped to it's back, obviously for storing messages.

"Oh." said Xante, looking away.

"But wait, Lord Sunbane personally wrote these letters to his most trusted friends. Surely he would know what they would look like." said Anne. "And besides, non of us here can impersonate one of the lord's friends except Millhouse."

"Then we best pray that the invitation is for a gnome mage." said Karkon.

"Naw, mon. Da letter be addressed to a high elf lady by da name of Dawnsong." the troll said again. Anne's eyes lit up with hope.

"Thats it!" she exclaimed. "Lord Sunbane has never seen lady Dawnsong! He keeps trying to woo her, but she never attends his parties! This is our chance!"

"But if this lady never attends his parties, wouldn't he suspect something if she decided to show up?" offered Karkon.

"Yes, and where in the world would we find a high elf?" added Thoka. The group once again fell into deep thought.

Suddenly, everyone was struck by an epiphany. Slowly, they all turned to look at Nell.

"What?" she said, looking each of them in the eye, confused.

Evil, sadistic grins showed across each and everyone of their faces.

* * *

A carriage approached the gates to the manor. Guardsman Tomas' eyes followed it curiously. He was really interested in finding out what the contents of the carriage. All he had been doing all evening was watch guest after guest arrive at the Lord's manor. He really liked seeing the types of people his master mixes with, especially the ladies. So far, pretty much every high noble and aristocrat had already arrived, so he guessed that the guest in the carriage was most likely the archmage Anne, who was the only name left in his list. There was a possibility that the Lady Dawnsong was in the carriage, but it was unlikely, for she had never attended the Lord's parties.

The carriage pulled to a stop next to the guard. He gestured for the drive to open the door, which he did hurriedly. The driver helped a beautiful woman down. She wore an elegant purple robe, lined with gold and silver threads, forming a unique flowery pattern. She also wore a mantle of similiar design. Her purple-streaked hair immediately gave away her identity.

"Lady Anne," said Tomas, giving her a low bow," it is a pleasure to see you again. My lord was expecting you."

Anne smiled at the guardsman, making him blush.

"And it is good to see you to Guardsman Tomas. Are you expecting anyone else? Or are we the last ones to arrive once again?" she asked. The guard nodded.

"Yes, madam. You are the last to arrive once again." he hesitated for a moment before speaking up again. "Actually, I still await the arrival of Lady Dawnsong, but I think you and I both know that she will not turn up. I'm afraid I won't be able to join in the revelry once again." he said with a sigh, obviously disappointed.

"Oh, don't say that. You should always have a positive attitude. Isn't that right, madam?" said the mage.

The statement made Tomas look up. This was the first time the the mage had brought some company with her to the lord's manor. What he saw made him stumble. A tall, elegant and breath-takingly beautiful woman stepped out of the carriage. She wore a lavish red dress with matching elbow length gloves. Her dress slitted at the thigh, showing off her lustrous legs. She wore gold bangles on her wrists and ankles and had a similar choker around her neck. Her eyes were blood red and her similar colored shoulder length hair swayed in the gentle breeze. A flush of red crossed her face when she noticed the guardsman looking at her. She quickly turned away.

"Tomas? If you are not too busy, would you care to escort us your lord?" asked Anne, enjoying the guardsman's expression. Tomas stumbled.

"Huh? Wha? Oh...Oh, y-yes. O-Of course. Follow me, ladies." he said, turning around and gesturing them to follow him.

* * *

Meanwhile...

Deep below the earth, a group of figures trudged through the murky, disgusting waste water of the pitch-black sewers, slowly making thier way towards Lord Sunbane's basement entrance. Each of them wore an expression of disgust and lack of enthusiasm on their faces. The largest of he group spoke up.

"I hate this plan." he said. The group ignored him and continued on their way.

To be continued...


End file.
